Maria P. Williams

Maria P. Williams

January 1, 1866 Versailles, Missouri

January 3, 1932Kansas City, Missouri

Assistant Theater Manger, ScreenWriter, Actor, Lecturer, Producer, ScreenWriter, Secretary-Treasurer.

Ms. Williams is known as the first black woman to direct and produce a film. Her film Flames of Wrath was a crime drama and was released in 1923. This was an extraordinary accomplishment. Black female directors have faced enormous obstacles since Ms. Williams shot her ground-breaking film. She authored, My Work and Public Sentiment, published in 1916, which credits her on the cover as “National Organizer, Good Citizens League, Lecturer and Writer.”