JAMES EDWARDS

James Edwards was a pioneering black African American actor from the 1950s to the 1960s. He was one of the first to completely break away from the Stepin Fetchit stereotyped roles, and play all positive black characters in mainstream Hollywood movies. Some of his movies include: The Set-Up, The Joe Louis Story, and The Manchurian Candidate. Sadly, Edwards passed away in 1970 at the age of 51 from a heart attack, so he never lived to see many of the great advancements made by and for black African Americans, advancements which he greatly helped pioneer.

You can learn much more about James Edwards by visiting the following link! Against the Grain: Black Film Pioneers: Part XIII: James Edwards