Today, there are several Black women filmmakers whose work consistently contributes to the vast array of quality film art on the market. There are women like Karen Rupert Toliver, Alana Mayo, Ava DuVernay, and Issa Rae, all of whom are committed to making strides for Black producers in Hollywood. But the pioneer for Black women in film can be traced back to the 1920s.
In 1923, a film entitled, “Flames of Wrath” was released. It was a silent movie consisting of 5 reels and was written, produced, and directed by the first African American woman to ever do so. She also acted in the film. Her name was Maria P. Williams.
The all-Black cast included: Maria P. Williams as the Prosecuting attorney, Frank Colbert as C. Dates, John Burton as William Jackson, Roxie Mankins as Pauline Keith, Charles Pearson as Guy Braxton, Anna Kelson as Flora Fulton, and John Lester Johnson as Frank Keith. The full cast was African American. Although the film reels were considered lost, as many silent films of that era were, “Flames of Wrath” was rediscovered in 1992 at UCLA.
In an era when strict Jim Crow laws and norms prevailed across society, north and south, Williams showed that the Black community could and would contribute to the newly emerging film industry, paving the way for other Black actors and directors. Influential women such as Maria P. Williams worked very hard to break female and racial stereotypes which also extended to how women contributed to the film-making process. But Williams was more than a film producer.
Maria P. Williams originally was a schoolteacher in Kansas City. Her work in the classroom gave her entry into the political area. She utilized her gift of speech and public speaking as a lecturer who traveled through the state of Kansas giving speeches and delivering lectures on the “topics of the day.”
Her activism and passion for people led her to the newspapers as well. She was the editor-in-chief of a weekly newspaper from 1891-1894 called the New Era. From 1896 to 1900, she edited and published a newspaper, the Women’s Voice. The paper was described as having “many pleasant things to say on a choice of timely topics.”
In 1916, Williams published a memoir titled My Work and Public Sentiment, in which she identified herself as a national organizer and speaker with the Good Citizens League and stated that ten percent of the proceeds would go to suppressing crime among African Americans.
Williams’ interest in films was likely tied to her husband’s business in Kansas City. Jesse L. Williams, Maria’s husband, operated a motion picture theater as the general manager while Maria served as the assistant manager. In addition, her husband was president of The Western Film Producing Company and Booking Exchange for which she was secretary and treasurer. After producing “Flames of Wrath” they used the company they owned to distribute the film.
While she received a lot of notoriety in 1923 for her endeavor, but, her happiness was short-lived after the death of her husband that same year. She died in 1932 after being "called away from her home by a stranger who requested help for his ill brother. She was found shot to death on the side of a road several miles from her home. The murder remains unsolved." (Biography By: Jane Margaret Laight)
Williams’ legacy endures. She is a member of the Black Educator Hall of Fame. Her memory lies behind an example of activism born from work in the classroom on behalf of the people and by way of the literary and performing arts.
Today, watching the success of Ava Marie DuVernay, an American filmmaker, screenwriter, film and television producer, recipient of a Primetime Emmy Award, two NAACP Image Awards, a BAFTA Film Award, and a BAFTA TV Award, as well as a nominee of an Academy Award and Golden Globe one cannot help but think about pioneers such as Williams who helped to pave the way for her.