These 10 celebrities with KC ties named to the new Black Movie Hall of Fame

A first-of-its-kind institution is coming to Kansas City, honoring the contributions of Black artists, directors and producers. And they’re starting out by highlighting some of the film industry’s all-time greats.

The Black Movie Hall of Fame is coming to the restored Boone Theater in the 18th and Vine District, and on Feb. 28, 2026, they’re set to induct its inaugural members. The Hall of Fame was founded by award-winning film critic and African American Film Critics Association co-founder Shawn Edwards, along with cultural strategist Tucker Lott.

The first class features 10 inductees, all with ties to the region.

Boone Theater at 1701 E. 18th St., seen on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Kansas City.

“The inaugural inductees were all selected because they are connected to the Kansas City area,” Edwards said in a statement. “We felt that since the Hall of Fame will be located in Kansas City, we should honor our hometown cinematic trailblazers first.”

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Visitors can purchase tickets to the induction gala Feb. 28 online, complete with a red carpet and VIP cocktail reception, dinner, tributes honoring the inaugural inductees and a live concert celebration. Prices range from $250 to $5,000.

Construction on Boone Theater began in October 2024 and is scheduled to take 12-18 months to finish, according to previous Star reporting.

Here’s who’s getting inducted into the Black Movie Hall of Fame.

Inaugural inductees to the Black Movie Hall of Fame

Ten iconic names in Black cinema will be inducted into the Hall’s permanent legacy archive inside Boone Theater, from Oscar-winning actors to the first Black person to direct and produce a film:

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Harry Belafonte: An actor and three-time Grammy award-winning singer, he played real-life Kansas City gangster Seldom Seen in Robert Altman’s film, “Kansas City.”

Chadwick Boseman: The actor portrayed the groundbreaking baseball player Jackie Robinson in the 2013 film “43,” who started his professional baseball career with the Kansas City Monarchs. He reached superstardom with his portrayal of Marvel’s Black Panther in several of the franchise’s blockbuster films.

Don Cheadle: an actor and director born in Kansas City, he’s won two Golden Globes, two Grammys and a Tony award. He’s one of few Black individuals to earn nominations for all four major American entertainment awards.

Hattie McDaniel: Born in Wichita, she was the first Black person to win an Oscar, winning best supporting actress for her performance as Mammy in the movie “Gone With The Wind” in 1940.

Oscar Micheaux: Known as the “Grandfather of Black Cinema,” he was the first Black person to direct and produce a feature film with “The Homesteader” in 1909 and is credited with directing and producing over 40 films throughout his career. He’s buried in Great Bend, Kansas.

Janelle Monáe: From Wyandotte County, the Kansas City, Kansas, native is a singer, songwriter and actress who has received 10 Grammy nominations, including “Album of the Year” in 2024 for “The Age of Pleasure.” She’s also earned a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Critics’ Choice Movie Award and three African-American Film Critics Association Awards.

Gordon Parks: Born in Fort Scott, Kansas, he helped create the “blaxploitation”genre in film, directed movies like “The Learning Tree” and “Shaft.” He was also a prominent photojournalist from the 1940s to 1970s, capturing the intersections of art, race, class and politics across the United States through the lens.

Tressie Souders: She was the first known Black woman to direct a feature film in the United States with 1922’s “A Woman’s Error.” The International Black Women’s Film Festival named an award after her in 2008, although it now goes by the Black Laurel awards. She was born in Frankfort, Kansas.

Forest Whitaker: The Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actor played legendary jazz musician Charlie Parker in the 1988 biopic “Bird.” Parker was born in Kansas City, Kansas, and is considered the founder of bebop, an uptempo style of jazz. He’s still active in Hollywood, recently returning to the “Star Wars” franchise.

Kevin Willmott: He won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for the film “BlacKkKlansman,” alongside Spike Lee in 2019, and is a professor at the University of Kansas. The film director and screenwriter was also born in Junction City, Kansas.

“Black storytellers have been shaping global culture through cinema for over a century,” Hall of Fame co-founder Edwards said. “This gala is our chance to honor their brilliance—not quietly, but boldly.”

“This isn’t just a celebration,” Lott said in a statement. “It’s the beginning of something historic for Kansas City and for generations of film lovers everywhere.”