Black in Period Films

Victoria Lamb's His Dark Lady follows Lucy Morgan an African singer and lady-in-waiting for Elizabeth 1 as she handles political upheaval and love. Based on William Shakespeare's dark lady sonnets, the Lucy Morgan series is an amazing Elizabethan era historical fiction series. Disclosure: This blog contains affiliate links. When you make a purchase from the links Blacks in Period Films get a commission that will help keep the blog running.

Ellen's Broom takes the historically accurate and culturally relevant practice of jumping the broom and turns it into a heartwarming story about family pride and love.

Piper Huguley's The Lawyer's Luck is a lovely historical romance that gives us the unique story of a free lawyer of color and a fugitive slave woman falling in love. This prequel and the entire Home to Milford College book series, would make for an entertaining mini television series.

Maya Angelou's short 'Steady Going Up' follows a man on the way to Cincinnati to pick up his ill younger sister, but leaves us with many unanswered question. A film that expanded on this short story and answered these questions could be very entertaining. What is your favorite work by Maya Angelou? 

Hannah Crafts' The Bondwoman's Narrative is the oldest known novel by an African American woman. Her story is one with many ups and downs that ultimately lead to triumph. This autobiographical novel would make for the perfect period drama.  

Edward P. Jones wrote two collections of two short stories taken place in 1950s/1960s Washington and show their life experiences in a natural way. Both Lost in the City and All Aunt Hagar's Children combined would make for an incredible series.

In Maud Martha by Gwendolyn Brooks, we get the very specific experience of one black girl and in 1930 and 1940s South Side Chicago. Very often when a black girl's life is shown on screen she is suffering. Most often these stories end with no resolution to her pain in sight. However, Maud's as a slice of life film would be refreshing. Maud grows maturing into a wise wife and mother.

The Narrative of the Life of Henry Box Brown, Written by Himself is the biography of an amazing man. The famous Henry Box Brown gained his freedom by mailing himself to abolitionists in Philadelphia. His noteworthy escape is the perfect example of the life he led after gaining his freedom. I would love to see a biopic for Henry Box Brown.

The Passing of Grandison by Charles W. Chesnutt is a layered short story full of twists and turns. I would love to see this extremely satisfying story adapted and expanded on. The daring heroics and awesome twist at the end would make for a great character driven film.

The Boy and the Bayonet by Paul Laurence Dunbar is a delightful short story following a high school boy and his loving family, as he learns about hard work, determination, and pride. This heartwarming story would make for an amazing historical coming of age film.

Sweat by Zora Neale Hurston is an amazing short story that combines elements from the drama and thriller. I would love to see it expanded into a feature length historical thriller.

Write It Day 17: In Thank You, Ma’am by Langston Hughes we are treated with an amazing example of love, understanding, and redemption. This short story would make for a perfect feature length film.

Born enslaved, Mary Bowen later became a spy for the Union army. Stationed in the white house of the Confederate States of America Bower bravely contributed to the cause of freedom. Lois Leveen perfectly captured the life and times of this hero in The Secrets of Mary Bowser! Based on the remarkable true story of a freed African American slave who returned to Virginia at the onset of the Civil War to spy on the Confederates, The Secrets of Mary Bowser is a masterful debut by an exciting new novelist. Author Lois Leveen combines fascinating facts and ingenious speculation to craft a historical novel that will enthrall readers of women’s fiction, historical fiction, and acclaimed works like Cane River and Cold Mountain that offer intimate looks at the twin nightmares of slavery and Civil War. A powerful and unforgettable story of a woman who risked her own freedom to bring freedom to millions of others, The Secrets of Mary Bowser celebrates the courageous achievements of a little k...

Rufus Estes gives a summary of his amazing life at the start of his cookbook 'Good things to Eat as Suggested by Rufus'. Born a slave Rufus Estes when on to become one of the first Black American celebrity chefs. Rufus Estes' Good Things to Eat: The First Cookbook by an African-American Chef" includes nearly 600 mouth-watering recipes ... Estes had worked for years as a chef in deluxe private railroad cars, where he honed his culinary skills preparing lavish meals for industry magnates and even American presidents. Estes ran a more stationary kitchen as a caterer to executives with the U.S. Steel Corporation, the first billion-dollar corporation in the world, by the time his cookbook appeared. His cookbook doesn't skimp on the lard or fats, and also includes an introduction with a brief sketch covering Este's Southern childhood and early years as a railway attendant. "Rufus Estes' Good Things to Eat: The First Cookbook by an African-American Ch...

Marlene Banks mixes heavy and light topics to create a thoroughly moving tale of love, forgiveness, healing and, triumph. We follow Bodine Peace and newly free Ruth as they tackle love and the ensuing rebellion on Nat Turner. Set in the 1800s, Ruth's Redemption, is an unusual depiction of the lives of slaves and free blacks in pre-Civil War America. Bo, was educated while a slave. He was given his freedom and now owns a farm buying slaves for the sole purpose of giving them their freedom. Bo is also a man of God and widower whose life is destined to change when he meets the proud and hard-hearted slave girl, Ruth. Ruth has known nothing but servitude and brutality since being separated from her mother at age thirteen. Purchased and sold primarily for breeding, her heart is filled with resentment and bitterness. Ruth wants no part of Bo's Godly devotion. Yet Bo is unlike any man she's known and her experiences with him will leave her forever changed. A gripping slave ...

Molly, by Golly!: The Legend of Molly Williams, America's First Female Firefighter This legendary tale introduces young readers to Molly Williams, an African American cook for New York City's Fire Company 11, who is considered to be the first known female firefighter in U.S. history. One winter day in 1818, when many of the firefighting volunteers are sick with influenza and a small wooden house is ablaze, Molly jumps into action and helps stop the blaze, proudly earning the nickname Volunteer Number 11. Relying on historic records and pictures and working closely with firefighting experts, Dianne Ochiltree and artist Kathleen Kemly not only bring this spunky and little-known heroine to life but also show how fires were fought in early America.

Leonard Pitt Jr. cuts us right through the heart with this moving story about love and a husband searching for his wife directly after the Civil War. This heartfelt book takes us on a journey as desperate and emotional as Sam's. There are three main story lines and all are equally compelling. The highs and lows of this amazing story would make for a great period drama. Freeman, the new novel by Leonard Pitts, Jr., takes place in the first few months following the Confederate surrender and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Upon learning of Lee's surrender, Sam--a runaway slave who once worked for the Union Army--decides to leave his safe haven in Philadelphia and set out on foot to return to the war-torn South. What compels him on this almost-suicidal course is the desire to find his wife, the mother of his only child, whom he and their son left behind 15 years earlier on the Mississippi farm to which they all "belonged."   At the same time, Sam's wife...

The Cane River by Lalita Tademy offers up two possible stories for a possible adaption. One follows the story of four amazing enslaved women and the other follows Tademy on her journey of discovery. Official Summary: The unique and deeply moving saga of four generations of African-American women whose journey from slavery to freedom begins on a Creole plantation in Louisiana.

With the 'Notes from a Colored Girl: the Civil War Pocket Diaries of Emilie Frances Davis' we are given a first hand look into the life of a 21 year old free woman of color in 19th century Philadelphia. The diaries and the accompanied research by Professor Whitehead make for an amazing read. Official Summary: In Notes from a Colored Girl, Karsonya Wise Whitehead examines the life and experiences of Emilie Frances Davis, a freeborn twenty-one-year-old mulatto woman, through a close reading of three pocket diaries she kept from 1863 to 1865. Whitehead explores Davis's worldviews and politics, her perceptions of both public and private events, her personal relationships, and her place in Philadelphia's free black community in the nineteenth century.

With 'A Free Man of Color' Barbara Hambly brought historical New Orleans to life with her amazing Benjamin January series. It would make for an entertaining historical mystery television series. Official Summary: A lush and haunting novel of a city steeped in decadent pleasures...and of a man, proud and defiant, caught in a web of murder and betrayal. It is 1833. In the midst of Mardi Gras, Benjamin January, a Creole physician and music teacher, is playing piano at the Salle d'Orleans when the evenings festivities are interrupted--by murder. Ravishing Angelique Crozat, a notorious octoroon who travels in the city's finest company, has been strangled to death. With the authorities reluctant to become involved, Ben begins his own inquiry. But soon the eyes of suspicion turn toward Ben—for, black as the slave who fathered him, this free man of color is still the perfect scapegoat.