Black folks have been largely absent from vampire mythos, which is commonly accepted as white and European. Vampire fiction first appeared in 18th-century with the publication of Polidori’s The Vampyre and would solidify it’s presence with the masterpiece of the genre, Bram Stoker’s Dracula in 1897.
The melanated undead wouldn’t make an appearance until the iconic 1972 Blaxploitation film Blacula starring Shakespearean actor William H. Marshall as Prince Mamuwalde. The film is often overlooked and stigmatized by it’s era but it was led by William Crain, a black director and opens with a dynamic story of an African prince seeking out Count Dracula in an effort to put a stop to the slave trade.
Although infrequent, there have been a few Black highlights in film in television over the past 50 years, including Queen Of The Damned and The Blade trilogy, which began Marvel’s film success setting the stage for further comic book film adaptations.
Check Into Our List Below
[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”2″ display=”basic_imagebrowser” display_view=”default”]
