Lecture on blacks in movies

Staff report

WARREN

Art Byrd, an instructor at Youngstown State University, will speak about African-American films at the Warren-Trumbull County Public Library, 444 Mahoning Ave. NW, at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Byrd, who teaches “The History of Motion Pictures” at YSU, will discuss the historical timeline of African-American cinema from the early 1900s to the present.

The presentation will analyze the realism with which African-Americans are portrayed in film.

Each audience member will by emailed a free PDF copy of Byrd’s research.

Byrd has taught at YSU for 14 years and also worked as a photojournalist at 21 WFMJ-TV until 2008. He has written and directed numerous independent short films, which have been shown in Los Angeles and Cleveland. His short film “The Ballet Audition” has more than 2 million views on YouTube.