I have many people and institutions to thank for the completion of this project. The scholars that I worked with at New York University’s Cinema Studies Department have been instrumental in my own development as a film historian and in shaping the initial research that would eventually lead to the writing of this book. Antonia Lant taught me a great deal about historiography and navigating the archives, and it was through her that I first became interested in musical film. Robert Stam always offered unique critical perspectives that imbued my later work with a breadth and vitality not present in the project’s initial stages. Richard Allen met my writing with demanding questions and insightful criticism as I worked to define the historical scope and methodology of this project. Ed Guerrero offered many helpful suggestions and criticisms. In particular, Robert Sklar, who has unfortunately passed away, met my research with challenging questions and meticulous attention to issues of style and historiography. He was extremely generous with his time and always encouraging in the face of difficulties and setbacks. I miss his thoughtful criticism of my work, his profound knowledge of American film, and, especially, his kindness.
This book would not have been possible without funding from The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, who supported my work at NYU. The Cinema Studies Department at NYU also awarded me a grant as I completed the final stages of research on the project. I have been fortunate to live in New York City, a metropolis of outstanding research institutions. In particular, my work was greatly enhanced by access to archives at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem and the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center. The new online Afro-American archive has enriched the project by facilitating access to the publication dating back to the teens. I also made use of film archives at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., and the American Film Institute’s online collection of silent film company production summaries. The George Amberg Memorial Film Study Center in the Cinema Studies Department of NYU generously allowed me to view films pertaining to this project.
Gathering images for the book has been more demanding than I had initially anticipated, and the visual material has been amassed from a variety of sources, including the Library of Congress, the Afro-American, the New York Daily News, and the Chicago Defender. I would especially like to thank filmmaker and artist Charlie Ahearn for his assistance with the project. Firstly, I am grateful that he made the film Wild Style, which inspired the initial project, and secondly, I am indebted to him for providing all of the visual documentation of his film that appears in these pages. Joe Neumaier, film critic for the New York Daily News (and my neighbor), also deserves a special thank you for tracking down the photograph of Jimmy Tate that appears in Chapter 4.
Leila Salisbury, my editor at the University Press of Mississippi, has been supportive and enthusiastic about the project from the beginning, and I am grateful to her for selecting such thoughtful and knowledgeable readers for the manuscript. I would also like to thank Valerie Jones at the press for her assistance with visual material, historian Krin Gabbard for his astute and valuable criticism, my copyeditor Peter Tonguette, and film scholar Timothy Shary for his advice, close reading of the manuscript, and interest in my early scholarship on Wild Style.
My parents have been supportive of my academic career since my undergraduate days. I would not have been able to follow this path without their kindness and generosity. Many thanks also go to my good friend Holly Wood, who took care of my daughter when I didn’t have the ability to simultaneously write and keep up with an active toddler. My husband, Joseph, who shares my interest in hip hop movies and music, deserves a warm thanks. He has been patient and kind during this process and also offered many fruitful suggestions and criticisms of my work. I must also thank my beautiful daughter Cleo, who taught me to value playtime as much as work time.