Black in Period Films

There has been talk about a film in the makings called The Greatest Showman on Earth. It focuses on the life of P.T. Barnum. My interest in this film was first peaked when I heard about the possible casting of Zendaya as Zac Efron’s girlfriend within the film. I began doing research on P.T. Barnum and was pulled into his interesting life and circus attractions. Once I began reading up on his circus attractions I began to think about the possibilities for this film to include diverse talent. One of the features of a great circus is diversity after all.  Barum did not have a life or circus that only included White Americans so the last thing this film should do is portray it as such. Here are just a few of the attractions from his museum and circus that included people of color throughout the 1800’s:   William Henry Johnson  aka Zip the Pinhead (1842-1926)                               ...