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Source: Michael Ochs Archives / Getty
Melvin Van Peebles, a true giant of Black cinema, has passed away. He was 89.
Van Peebles is best known for 1971’s Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, a cult classic film that he wrote, directed and self-financed and released independently. The groundbreaking film proved that a Black director could be successful and had an audience, and is often credited with starting the Blaxploitation era of Hollywood cinema in the 1970’s.
“Dad knew that Black images matter,” said his son, fellow auteur Mario Van Peebles, in a statement from the
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