Black Film Center/Archive

Good Evening! I am very excited! Are you? I am also delighted to join Union Board in welcoming our special guest.

I attended a conference last week-The Association for the Study of African American Life and History and participated in a session on the reclamations of rural, southern black schoolhouses- the Rosenwald schools and those founded by black people with their own dreams, sweat, and sense of purpose in the years following the Civil War and Reconstruction.

One of those schools, I learned, was in Snow Hill, Alabama, and was founded by Mr. James Walter Edwards, the son of slaves, who also wrote a book, 25 years in the Black Belt. Mr. Edwards was the great grandfather of our esteemed speaker, Mr. Spike Lee.

I mention this historical fact as a point of connection between our past and our present. Contrary to the notion that great accomplishments and great people just "come out of nowhere," there are usually paths laid down by others, for us to follow. These off camera beginnings we don't see, or fully appreciate. Traditions of dedication, service, purpose, of achievement ---often are nurtured in families by unseen others.

That, indeed, is the spirit of the award that I am about to bestow on our honored guest. The Oscar Micheaux Distinguished Achievement Award acknowledges the connection between our guest speaker and the history and tradition of black filmmakers who preceded him. Oscar Micheaux (1884-1951) possessed few resources, but offended by the demeaning portrayals of black people in films, wrote, produced, directed, and marketed his own films. Between 1919-1948 he produced 41 films. These films conveyed his oppositional creativity, and his mission.

Spike Lee's films keep alive the spirit of Oscar Micheaux, and build upon his legacy by offering us alternative images and re-framing social debates. His work as writer, producer, director, his willingness to address controversial topics, his edgy iconoclastic vision never suffer from lack of purpose, artistic merit, or craftsmanship. He has become a beacon for and inspiration to a new generation of young filmmakers. Indeed, a new Spike Lee Joint is a communal event in many parts of the country-an instant topic of conversation in barbershops and beauty parlors all over America.

So, Spike , although Hollywood has been tardy in honoring your directorial prowess (You were robbed, Brother! for Do the Right Thing; Malcom X). Therefore, on behalf of the Dept of African American& African Diaspora Studies and the Black Film Center/Archive-where you serve as one of our esteemed sponsors-I am proud to present you with your first "OSCAR"-- as recipient of the inaugural Oscar Micheaux Award for Distinguished Achievement. The inscription reads: