The Black Movie Hall of Fame is set to move into the redeveloped Boone Theater in Kansas City’s historic 18th and Vine district in 2026.
“I’m really hoping that the Black Movie Hall of Fame preserves the history, because history is very important. We really need to understand what people went through in the past to understand the present, and where you’re going in the future.” – Shawn Edwards, Founder, Black Movie Hall of Fame
Early this year, film fans from around the world were stunned to find out that a Black Movie Hall of Fame would be opening its doors in 2026.
For Edwards, the idea for what would one day be known as the Black Movie Hall of Fame was a long time in the making. When asked “Why Kansas City?,” in a recent interview with SHIFTER, he simply responded “Because that’s where I’m from…I think I was born with this idea“. Indeed, born and raised in Kansas City, Edwards was exposed to a variety of different blaxploitation films, a sub-genre of Black-led films from the early to mid-70’s. They explored themes like crime action with a blend of sex and violence, accompanied by a rhythm-and-blues soundtracks, and the distinct aesthetics that helped defined that era. It also helped define the path on which he’d take his career.
The Hall of Fame will be located in a prime location on 18th and Vine, also known as the city’s Jazz District, which carries deep cultural roots for African Americans. The Hall will be right next to the American Jazz Museum which shares its building with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. In the early 20th century, 18th and Vine was a thriving commercial and entertainment hub for Kansas City’s Black community, home to legendary theaters like the Boone, Eblon, Lincoln, and Gem.
It’s also the birthplace of pioneers such as Tressie Souders, the first known Black woman to direct a feature film. Her legacy, along with that of countless artists and visionaries who passed through the district, makes it a fitting home for a museum that will celebrate and preserve Black cinematic history.
“It’s amazing for us to be in this Black historical corridor,” Shawn explained. We commandeered an old movie theatre — The Boone Theatre, which was built in 1924. We’re in the middle of this huge construction project to bring it to modern standard.”
On top of celebrating Black Cinema, the Hall of Fame will also highlight the contributions of Black film critics and journalists who, according to Edwards, has been an essential component for the discovery of Black talents.
“A lot of people don’t realize that there’s been Black film critics since day one,” he points out. “Black film critics have always played a vital part of Black cinema history in everyday decades of its existence. It’s just that their story is not known. As a matter of fact, in the 40’s and 50’s, there had to be Black film critics because the mainstream critics would not talk about or write about Black movies”.
Indeed, the Black Movie Hall of Fame website currently has a section called The Critic’s Pick, dedicated to the top 10 lists provided by more than 40 influential Black film critics and entertainment journalists, including myself.
The first round of inductees into the Hall include three icons of cinema Sidney Poitier, Cicely Tyson and Melvin Van Peebles. This moment will mark a defining chapter for the world of Black Cinema; a chapter that will now live on in the annals of history.
The Black Movie Hall of Fame will be inaugurated on Saturday, February 28th 2026 during Black History Month.
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