DuVernay, Ava

Lee, Spike (Shelton Jackson Lee)

1957-

Directed 'Do the Right Thing,' a landmark of independent Black American cinema whose 1990 Oscar Best Picture snub became one of the Academy's most cited controversies; won his first competitive Oscar for 'BlacKkKlansman' three decades later in a near-identical scenario

Singleton, John Daniel

1968-2019

Youngest person and first African American ever nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director, at age 24, for 1991's 'Boyz n the Hood,' which he directly described as inspired by seeing Spike Lee's 'Do the Right Thing'

Rhimes, Shonda

1970-

Television writer, showrunner, and producer who reshaped American prime-time television; the first African American woman to create and executive produce a top-ten network series ('Grey's Anatomy') and the first woman to create three dramas that each reached the 100-episode milestone.

Parks, Gordon Roger Alexander Buchanan

1912-2006

Directed 'The Learning Tree,' the first feature film by a Black director financed by a major Hollywood studio, and 'Shaft,' which co-created the Blaxploitation genre and introduced the Black action hero to mainstream cinema