Melvin van pebbles biography

‘A Twentieth-Century Renaissance Man’

Best known as a trailblazing Black filmmaker, Melvin Van Peebles was a twentieth-century Renaissance man, transcending the boundaries of race and gender as an innovator in film, theater, music, art, literature, and business.

With his recent death, the aim of this symposium is to honor and celebrate his life and legacy by providing a platform to review, study, and share the historical and contemporary impact of Van Peebles, and how through this examination, we might gain important insights about broader political and cultural dynamics.

Furthermore, the symposium seeks to recognize emerging artists and artistry that extend Van Peebles’ radical tradition.

After graduating from Ohio Wesleyan in 1953 with a degree in English, Van Peebles served as a navigator and bombardier in the U.S.

Air Force Strategic Air Command. He soon found his calling to be an artist and began an accomplished career that spanned the arts—and often r