Something Good--Negro Kiss (1898) | Inspiration for our next show, MORE SOON 🤎🤎 

Shakespeare in Detroit will produce a special production in Spring 2024 (To Be Announced SOON) inspired by the INSPIRING, historical silent film Something Good--Negro Kiss 🤎🤎
Info c/o Wikipedia:
Something Good - Negro Kiss is a short silent film from 1898 of a couple kissing and holding hands. It is believed to depict the earliest on-screen kiss involving African Americans and is known for departing from the prevalent and purely stereotypical presentation of racist caricature in popular culture at the time it was made. The film was a lost film until its rediscovery in 2017, and was added to the American National Film Registry in 2018.
Info from pbssocial.org:
In the dizzying turn-of-the-century film, vaudeville performers Saint Suttle and Gertie Brown are dressed in dignified Victorian-era costuming and share several kisses, pulling back and swinging their arms side-to-side in between each one. The moment is tender and sincere - a stark contrast to the popular minstrelsy shows of the time that depicted racist caricatures of African Americans, framing Black performances and performers as comedy.