Black love has always existed, with countless unions experiencing its tenderness and strength. While it’s taken Hollywood some time to showcase positive imagery of Black love on screen, its first moment, captured more than 125 years ago, overflows with the joy that was often omitted from the screen depicting Black life in years past.
Made in 1898, Something Good – Negro Kiss, now featured as part of the Regeneration exhibition celebrating Black cinema at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), features vaudeville stars Gertie Brown and Saint Suttle in what’s believed to be the earliest on-screen depiction of Black intimacy. It’s brief and sweet, showcasing its two actors dressed to the nines as they banter, embrace and share smooches.
Excerpt from Something Good – Negro Kiss, 1898. Image: The National Library of Norway. courtesy of Detroit Institute of Arts.
“When you walk into the Regeneration exhibition at the Detroit Institute of Arts, the first thing you see is a larger-than-life video playing the film. And that moment just blows you away: the beauty of seeing Black love filmed and shown in public for the first time ever,” says Lane Coleman, the new Board Chair of the Detroit Institute of Arts.
This less-than-a-minute scene, originally shot on 35 mm film and directed by William Nicholas Selig, stands out from the many negative and hostile portrayals of African Americans in popular culture during the late 19th and early 20th century. Lost for years, the film was rediscovered in 2017 and added to the National Film Registry, cementing its historical importance in filmmaking history for celebrating Black love on screen.
“Black actors and creatives were shut out of the mainstream motion picture industry and Hollywood for decades, well into the 1920s and ’30s,” Coleman shares. “This film and so many others in the exhibition show us that the stories, emotions and passions of Black Americans were always and should always have been part of the broader story of American cinema and American life.”
Something Good – Negro Kiss depicts a simple act, yet one that was revolutionary in its time, as it defied the prevailing stereotypes that painted Black love as anything but beautiful and real. It opened doors for future actors to explore positive Black love imagery in media, a theme that is still being fought for today. This flicker of cinematic joy remains a testament to Black love’s enduring flame.
“Regeneration” featuring Something Good – Negro Kiss runs through June 23, 2024, at the Detroit Institute of Arts Museum.
