Deep in the heart of Kansas City, Missouri a dream is slowly being realized in the confines of the city’s historic Boone Theater. It’s the Black Movie Hall of Fame, which, when completed, will aim to tell the vibrant and vast history of Black cinema and moviemaking through the artifacts and stories of the people who lived it.
The Hall of Fame’s founder, Shawn Edwards, along with its co-owner, successful businessman Tucker Lott, are working diligently to finish the project that could almost be described as a lifetime in the making. Edwards, for his part, is a journalist and television/film producer, who, for the last 25 years has served as film critic for Fox 4 News in Kansas City. He is also a co-founder of the African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) and is serving his second term on the Board of the Critics Choice Association (CCA) where he created and executive produces the “Celebration of Black Cinema and Television” award show.
It should suffice to say that Edwards knows the enormity of the task he has, not just in completing the Hall of Fame—which is already advanced in its construction—but also in trying to tell the story of Black cinema. Thankfully, he is undaunted.
Edwards spoke with RogerEbert.com over Zoom about the Hall of Fame’s timeline, the search for artifacts, and the support it has received so far.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Where did the concept for the Black Movie Hall of Fame originate?
Well, everything needs an origin story. This one started back in the early-2000s and it’s been swirling in my head ever since. I’m a fan of Black cinema because I grew up on Black cinema. I was fortunate. I had parents who introduced me to Black cinema at a really young age by physically taking me to the movie theater to see Black movies, like “Super Fly,” “Shaft,” “Black Caesar,” “Claudine,” and “Sounder,” whenever possible. It was just a natural part of my moviegoing experience. Those images are powerful.There’s a reason why movie theaters were created. You go into this dark room and you’re sitting there with all these other people and there’s this big screen and there’s just something very magical about that experience.
Growing up, I knew I was Black. I had parents that instilled that identity in me. My grandparents in Kansas City were very pro-Black. My grandparents in Princeton, New Jersey, where my mother was from, were super pro-black. One of the first novels my grandfather gave me in New Jersey to read was Roots [laughs] before the TV miniseries. So, I’ve always had a connection to Blackness, but I also love movies and the process of filmmaking. That love has stayed with me as my career has evolved as a journalist and then eventually into film criticism.
So, this idea of celebrating Black cinema and teaching other people about Black cinema really stuck with me because I would have conversations with so many people that did not know about the vastness of Black cinema or that Black cinema can be traced all the way back to the early 1900s. So I’m like, man, I’ve got to come up with something that explains and teaches people that Black cinema has always been a thing.
What’s the journey been like to pull together resources to make this dream a reality?
It’s a struggle. There could not possibly be a worse time, probably in the history of modern America as it relates to the United States, to try to bring something online that’s called the Black Movie Hall of Fame. We picked the absolutely, positively worst time ever, particularly as it relates to fundraising [laughs].
There’s actually a bullseye on Blackness right now. We are at a time when there’s this sort of calculated deescalation of Blackness, of Black contributions, and of Black history. So, we’re fighting against that huge tsunami to get this thing done.
Fortunately for us, the renovation part of the project was all funded years ago because we saved a 100-year-old movie theater, the Boone Theater, which is located in the 18th and Vine Historic Jazz District in Kansas City, Missouri. The building sat vacant for decades. The last time there was anything going on in that building was in the mid-70s. It’s been empty since then, which is a nightmare when you’re doing a renovation project in a building where there’s been no life for almost 50 years. But we saved the building and we got the funding for the construction years ago. That part is fine. The struggle has been raising the additional money to breathe life into that building so you can actually see what it’s going to be when it actually becomes the Black Movie Hall of Fame, like the movie theater component and all the other elements that will add further value to the theater. But we fight that fight every day. We are actually in the middle of our fundraising campaign, and although it’s not going as quickly as we would like it to be, it’s still inching forward.
What has the relationship been like between the museum and Kansas City, whether on a municipal level or a local level?
On a local level, there’s a lot of excitement and anticipation because it’s located in an area that’s been starving to become what it should be. The 18th and Vine Historic Jazz District back in the day was the hub of everything Black in Kansas City, and most things that Kansas City is known for nationally and internationally stem from Blackness. A lot of times when people think of Kansas City, they think of jazz, and Charlie Parker, Lester Young, Mary Lou Williams, and Count Basie. I mean, jazz is Black music. Those figures spread the sound of bebop around the world. We also have the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, which is about much more than just sports. Another thing that’s associated with Kansas City that’s also rooted in Backness is barbecue. I know people from Texas, North Carolina, and Memphis, Tennessee will argue who has the best barbecue, but Kansas City’s always thrown in the mix when you talk about barbecue.
So, everything that Kansas City’s known for is rooted in Blackness and took place in the 18th and Vine Historic Jazz District. When we said we were bringing the Black Movie Hall of Fame online at the Boone Theater, that we were renovating it, people got excited because a lot of Black cinema is also rooted in Kansas City. Oscar Micheaux traveled through Kansas City; Hattie McDaniel is from right down the street in Wichita; Gordon Parks is from Fort Scott, Kansas; Kevin Wilmont, who just won an Oscar, is from the area; Janelle Monáe and Don Cheadle are also from the area. The community knows that history and they’re fully on board.
And to a certain extent, so is the city when it comes to historical tax credits and those sorts of things that you need in order to preserve as much of the integrity of the building as you possibly can. Though the building fell a little bit behind schedule, we thought it would’ve been completed by now, we didn’t want to waste Black History month this year, so we did a temporary exhibit at the Black Archives of Mid-America to give people a glimpse of what the Black Movie Hall of Fame will look like once everything is completed.
That turned a lot of heads toward a positive direction because people began to get what we were doing. That’s helped out a lot. I think the excitement will swell even more once everything is done and people can walk in and see the exhibits and see the artifacts and the film series that we can do in a building where old Black movies were shown. We just want to get it done and get people excited and to prove those who aren’t on board wrong.
What has the reaction from Hollywood been like, particularly Black creatives? Has there been help on that front as well?
It’s getting there. A lot of people have wanted to know why it’s going to be in Kansas City. [laughs] I mean, a lot of people aren’t that familiar with Kansas City. I understand that as well. I do think Hollywood will come on board in a major way when it’s finished. I just think completion is the goal. Because I think once it’s completed, then you will convert the non-believers and people will buy in even more. And, you know, Hollywood operates with its own language and its own set of rules, especially when it comes to money. I know everybody thinks that every actor and every director is loaded. But it’s not that easy.
What has the process been like for procuring items for curation for the museum?
I have literally turned myself into a door-to-door salesman. That’s where the interaction with Hollywood’s working. I’ve been fortunate enough to build these relationships through the Critics Choice Association and producing the celebration of Black Cinema, and just traveling back and forth and doing interviews or going to film festivals where, over time people start to have some familiarity with you.
So, often, in certain situations, I’ve tried to slip the Hall of Fame into conversations. Blair Underwood and I were having a casual conversation where I was like: Man, one of my all time favorite movies was Crush Groove. I used to love that jacket you were wearing. Whatever happened to that? He’s like: Oh, it’s at home in my closet. I told him that we might need that, not forever, but we might need that. I was with Malcolm Lee, who I was more candid with because I’ve actually talked to him about the project before, and he offered some stuff. And then there are people who are more difficult, like Spike Lee, who’s got a treasure trove of stuff, but he wants to sell everything. It’s funny, man. I could almost write a book about this stuff [laughs]
For instance, when they came out with the movie “Sarah’s Oil,” you know, Sarah Rector’s mansion is still standing. I talked with the film’s director. I told him about the Black Movie Hall of Fame and how it’d be really cool if we could get one of the dresses the actress wore in the movie for display. He told me I had to talk with the costume designer about that.
I talked to the costume designer on the phone and he told me it’s part of his personal collection, which is in storage. But can we have it for maybe like six months? He’s like: I don’t know. I respond: What do you mean you don’t know? It’s in storage. People would love to see that. It’s a movie that’s directly tied to Kansas City about one of the most famous Black women who ever lived in Kansas City. He shot me back with wanting to see the Hall of Fall when it’s finished. But, as you know, if he gave us that dress and we announce we have the dress it would get people excited and it may help with fundraising.
So, it’s a journey. But I think that’s part of it. I’ve never been a salesperson. There’s been nothing in my career where I’ve had any type of job that was remotely close to selling. But now that I’m this door-to-door salesperson, it’s weird because the rejection is fierce.
I’m sure people will be wondering this as they’re reading, but what is the criteria for the Black Movie Hall of Fame?
I’ll be the first to admit, it’s tricky. But basically the main element is that it’s a story about the Black experience, whether it’s in America, the UK, Nigeria, France, Australia, South Africa, Morocco, wherever. Secondly, if it’s a film that’s directed by someone who’s Black. That can get a little tricky because there are a lot of Black directors who don’t necessarily direct movies that are just about the Black experience. But we do want to acknowledge what they do behind the camera too. Thirdly, it has to be a movie that primarily has a Black person or Black persons in the lead. That gets a little tricky too. A movie like “Beverly Hills Cop,” you can debate back and forth. Is “Beverly Hills Cop” a Black movie? If you took Eddie Murphy out of “Beverly Hills Cop” and you went with their original casting choice, Sylvester Stallone, does it still have the same aesthetic? I don’t think so.
When do you expect to have the hall of fame finished by?
The construction of the building, which is actually picking back up, should be finished sometime around April or May of this year. And then realistically, I would like to have everything finished by February 2027 so we can have our inaugural gala where you can walk and see what the Black Movie Hall of Fame is all about, where we have everything in place, functioning, curated, and properly displayed. February 2027 would make me one of the happiest people on the planet.
More information about the Black Movie Hall of Fame can be found here.