Wil Haygood

"The author of The Butler and Showdown examines 100 years of Black movies--using the struggles and triumphs of the artists, and the films themselves, as a prism to explore Black culture and the civil rights movement in America. Beginning in 1915 with D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation--which glorified the Ku Klux Klan and became Hollywood's first blockbuster--Wil Haygood gives us an incisive, fascinating, little-known history, spanning more than...

This mesmerizing companion book to the award-winning film The Butler traces the Civil Rights Movement and explores crucial moments of twentieth century American history through the eyes of Eugene Allen-a White House butler who served eight presidents over the course of thirty-four years. During the presidencies of Harry Truman to Ronald Reagan, Eugene Allen was a butler in the most famous of residences: the White House. An African American who came...

The exhibition celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Harlem Renaissance, a period of cultural blossoming that occurred in the New York City neighborhood of Harlem in the 1920-50s. Curated by Columbus native and highly acclaimed writer Wil Haygood, the exhibition includes work by Jacob Lawrence, Romare Bearden, Aaron Douglas, Augusta Savage, and others who interpreted the lives of African Americans during this time. In addition, the exhibition includes...

Inspired by a true story about Cecil Gaines, a devoted husband, father, and White House butler who served eight Presidential administrations during the turbulent politics and civil rights battles of twentieth century America.

Follows the events in Cecil Gaines' life and in the country as he works as a White House butler under eight administrations.