African American Actresses: The Struggle for Visibility, 1900-1960

African American Actresses: The Struggle for Visibility, 1900-1960. By Charlene Regester. (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2010. xiv, 405 pp. Cloth, $75.00, isbn 978-0253-35475-4. Paper, $27.95, isbn 978-0-25322192-6.)

Charlene Regester's African American Actresses explores the careers of black female performers in Hollywood between 1900 and I960. Drawing inspiration from Ralph Ellison and his poignant examination of race through the trope of invisibility/visabihty, Regester argues that African American film actresses engaged in a constant "struggle for visibility." This batde occurred not only over their rigidly controlled screen performances but also over their representations in the white and black press. Regester documents the overwhelming racism and sexism that African American women in the film industry faced both behind and in front of the camera and demonstrates how through various channels they attempted to challenge their invisibility both in...