Celebrate Black History Month with 'Pioneers of African-American Cinema' on Netflix

Netflix has a hidden gem that deserves your attention this Black History Month: Pioneers of African-American Cinema.

It's a collection of groundbreaking films released in the first half of the 20th century that celebrates the works of some of the earliest black and African-American filmmakers.

The films, which are available to stream now, range from 1915's Two Knights of Vaudeville to 1946's Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A.

Pioneers of African-American Cinema was originally collected in 2016 by Kino Lorber, and the current collection on Netflix features 20 different movies from creators like the Ebony Film Corporation, Spencer Williams, and Oscar Micheaux.

The film collection, which has been completely restored, is historic, as many of these films that paved the way for black artists in movies weren't widely available to the public. The movies showcase pre-civil rights culture from underrepresented voices.

Overall, the collection is a spectacular showcase of talent, especially in a film industry that has been marred with accusations of racism since its inception, and which has persisted into the modern era.

People of color have often been underrepresented in American cinema, in roles both behind and in front of the camera. One of the biggest and most successful films of the early 20th century, meanwhile, was 1915's The Birth of a Nation. It cast white actors in blackface and painted the Ku Klux Klan as heroes.

This collection is a kind of counterpoint to that, showcasing the black films that helped shape the world of cinema. And there's no better time to dig into the history of black cinema than Black History Month this February.