Oscar Micheaux: Novelist turned Filmmaker

Oscar Devereaux Micheaux was born on January 2, 1884, he was an African American filmmaker who produced for than 44 films that span the Harlem Renaissance and beyond. He first started out writing novels. In 1919 his film the Homesteader successfully launched his career as a filmmaker.

http://www.biography.com/people/oscar-micheaux-9407584#early-life

This is a silent film by Oscar Micheaux called Within Our Gates which came out in 1920. Which was his response to the popular film by D.W Griffith The Birth of a Nation
https://youtu.be/h1E0NrcnwAE