Presentation: The First Queen of Black Hollywood

Decades before she became the first African American to win an Academy Award, Hattie McDaniel (1895 – 1952) had already made a name for herself in the entertainment industry, rising up through the ranks of minstrel shows, vaudeville, radio, theater and the silver screen, ultimately becoming black Hollywood royalty in the process. 

Join writer and historian, Linda A. Jackson, for a deep-dive exploration into the remarkable life of Hattie McDaniel, Best Supporting Actress of 1939 for her performance as “Mammy” in David O. Selznick’s Civil War epic, Gone with the Wind.

Linda A. Jackson is a native San Franciscan and a working writer, historian, photographer, vocalist, film critic and food artist. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Mt. St. Mary’s University in Los Angeles and her Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from Antioch University Los Angeles. As a performer she has been a member of the San Francisco Performing Arts Workshop, the Berkeley Repertory Theater and the Oakland Opera. She also spent eleven years working as a comedy writer and stand-up comedian in Los Angeles. She is the 2022 recipient of an Emerging Writers grant from the San Francisco Arts Commission to support the work of her first novel, Her Good Name, and has also written a collection of short stories entitled, The Religion of Slaves.