Miracle in Harlem

During the late 1940s, Greaves appeared in several ‘race films’ (films made by blacks and whites for African-American audiences). “At the time, Miracle in Harlem was considered a prestigious film: the first independent black-cast film done to so-called Hollywood standards. Miracle was done with the support of the NAACP, who were very concerned with the image of black people at that time. I played the romantic lead in Miracle, which has a very confused plot. Stepin Fetchit was wonderful. When you saw him in the context of black society, you said, ‘Gee, this is one good actor!’” (William Greaves).