10/15/2026
“Film history is American history. Black history is American history. Disability history is American history. Music history is American history,”
Article by Kristen Lopez, IndieWire
Smithsonian Folklife
Black Film Center & Archive
Indiana University Cinema
Lawrence Carter-Long
[Image description: Image of a headline from Indie(black text)Wire(blue text), Below in smaller blue font “RETROSPECTIVE”
Headline in the image’s largest black text “The Flying Ace” Turns 100, Bringing a Forgotten Black Disabled Actor Back Into Focus
Below in smaller black text “Disabled actors aren’t new. In fact, they’ve been around since cinema’s foundation, and the proof is in 1926’s “The Flying Ace,” which turns 100 this fall.
Byline “BY KRISTEN LOPEZ]
A black and white image, landscape. An African American man sits in a single passenger airplane, his head is turned to the left as he speaks to another woman, who is also Black. The has a neatly-combed, side parted bob haircut, almost to her chin. She Smiles speaking to the man. Trees line the background.] The bottom, small print image credit “The Flying Ace’ then, (italicized) Public Domain”]
