Unsung Black Film Pioneers that get little (to no) recognition...

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Nina Mae McKinney



"Nina Mae McKinney (June 13, 1913 - May 3, 1967) was an American actress. Dubbed "The Black Garbo", she was one of the first African-American film stars and was one of the first African-Americans to appear on British television, featuring in the demonstration film broadcast each morning for the benefit of installers and engineers."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nina_Mae_McKinney

"Nina Mae McKinney was a self-taught singer, dancer, and actress who revolutionized the role of black women in film with her 1929 Hollywood film debut in Hallelujah. McKinney played the leading role in that first all-black musical film. Her stunning performance as a sexy and seductive black woman transformed America's perceptions of black actresses, who had traditionally been cast as servants."
http://www.answers.com/topic/nina-mae-mckinney-1

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Evelyn Preer



"Eveleyn Preer (July 16, 1896 – November 27, 1932) was a pioneering African-American stage and screen actress and blues singer of the 1910s through the early 1930s."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evelyn_Preer

"Had she not died prematurely in 1932, the talented Evelyn Preer might have been the much-needed Afro-American ‘crossover’ leading lady and icon on Broadway and Hollywood. Given the racial climate and restrictions on minority actors, the light-complexioned Evelyn Preer nonetheless emerged as a pioneer black woman in race film and dramatic theatre."
http://www.silentera.com/people/actresses/Preer-Evelyn.html

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Lorenzo Tucker



"Handsome African-American actor Lorenzo Tucker played romantic leads in the 1928-1934 films of Oscar Micheaux. At the peak of his career, Tucker was billed as "the Black Valentino." "
http://www.answers.com/topic/lorenzo-tucker-1

"He became known as the "Black Valentino" because of his good looks and role as the romantic lead in the early black cinema.Tucker noted the irony of the appellation since he believed Rudolph Valentino had a darker complexion than Tucker. He became a movie star to black America and was often mentioned in the leading black newspapers."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenzo_Tucker

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Clarence Muse



"Clarence Muse (October 14, 1889 – October 13, 1979) was an actor, screenwriter, director, composer, and lawyer. He was inducted in the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1973. Muse was the first African American to "star" in a film. He acted for more than sixty years, and appeared in more than 150 movies."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarence_Muse