Turner Classic Movies hires its first black host: Jacqueline Stewart

The New York Times

University of Chicago professor and film archivist Stewart will become TCM's fifth host, and cable movie network's first black host. She'll make her debut on Sunday hosting "Silent Sunday Nights." While prominent black figures like Spike Lee and Ava DuVernay have served as guest programmers, TCM has never had a black host in its 25-year history. (From 2016 to 2018, Tiffany Vazquez appeared on TCM as the channel’s first woman and person of color to host.) Stewart specializes in black cinema and silent film history. She previously appeared on TCM in 2016 to introduce the companion series to “Pioneers of African-American Cinema" with longtime host Ben Mankiewicz. Stewart says that TCM's audience, which she's met at past TCM Film Festivals, is very knowledgeable and passionate -- and is willing to learn about the complicated legacy of beloved films like Gone with the Wind. "I think the audience is really familiar with this history and looking to complicate it and to learn more," she says. "What I say to my students all the time is that it’s not a matter of rejecting these films or you know, refusing to engage with films that have content that we find to be problematic. We can’t do that. In fact, the responsible thing to do — and I think the rewarding thing to do — is to really delve into their complexities and to look at them as mirrors of their time, but also as mirrors to us today." ALSO: Watch Jacqueline Stewart's TCM introduction.