Slideshow
GOD’S STEP CHILDREN
U.S., 1938
Directed by Oscar Micheaux
Written by Alice B. Russell and Oscar Micheaux
Starring Jacqueline Lewis, Ethel Moses, Alice B. Russell
Cinematography by Lester Lang
Approx. 70 min. 4K DCP restoration by UCLA Film & Television Archive.
“Naomi, a light-skinned Black child, is abandoned by her mother and raised by the virtuous Mrs. Saunders (Alice B. Russell, Micheaux's wife and collaborator). When the girl's fixation with whiteness turns her against her own race, she is sent to a convent. Hopelessly in love with her adoptive brother, Jimmie, Naomi consents to marry his friend, but is repulsed by his darker skin and unrefined ways. The narrative comes full circle as Naomi leaves her own newborn baby and makes a tragic attempt to pass in white society.” – UCLA Film & Television Archive