Screening & Conversation: Cabin in the Sky and Black Women's Stardom

An evening screening of the 1943 musical Cabin in the Sky at Poster House, followed by a conversation on Black women in Hollywood, presented in connection with the current exhibition Act Black: Posters from Black American Stage & Screen.

Film professor Racquel Gates and curator Es‑pranza Humphrey discuss the bold performances of Ethel Waters and Lena Horne, exploring the casting decisions and character profiles that shaped the representation of Black women in race films throughout the 1940s. They also examine how the promotional posters in the exhibition introduced Black performers in accordance with the artistic and cultural trends of the time.

Doors open at 6:15 pm. Complimentary small bites and refreshments will be available. Runtime: 1 hour 38 minutes. Seating is first come, first served.

Racquel Gates is an Associate Professor of Film and Media Studies at Columbia University, author of Double Negative: The Black Image and Popular Culture (Duke, 2018), and an Academy Film Scholar currently writing her second book, Blackness and the Invention of Hollywood Style.

Es‑pranza Humphrey is the Assistant Curator of Collections at Poster House, where her research centers on Black performance, fashion, and visual culture. Her work has been featured in the New Yorker, NPR, and ABC Here and Now. In Act Black, she investigates Black American theater and film posters from the 1870s to the 1940s.

Accessibility inquiries: [email protected] or (914) 295-2387.