Maria Priscilla Thurston, born in 1866 in Missouri, made a name for herself as a teacher, activist, and advocate for the liberal arts. She started her career in education but quickly became involved in media, serving as editor-in-chief of the New Era, a Kansas City weekly, from 1891 to 1894.
Her passion for community work led her to start her own newspaper, The Women’s Voice, which ran from 1896 to 1900 and was supported by the “colored women’s auxiliary of the Republican party.”
In 1916, Williams began working on her memoir, My Work and Public Sentiment, and used it to promote her role as a national organizer and speaker with the Good Citizens League. She dedicated 10% of the proceeds from her book to fighting crime in the Black community. That same year, she married Jesse L. Williams, a successful entrepreneur and movie theater owner in Kansas City. Together, they co-managed the theater, where Williams got her first taste of the film industry, especially in distributing and producing films for Black audiences.
The couple went on to found the Western Film Producing Co. and Booking Exchange, and under this banner, Maria wrote the script for Flames of Wrath. She not only produced the five-reel silent crime drama but also starred in it, making history as the first Black woman film producer during the silent film era. While pioneers like Oscar Micheaux are often remembered, Williams’ legacy hasn’t been as widely celebrated. Despite the recognition she received in 1923 for her film, her life took a tragic turn with the death of her husband that same year. Williams remarried, but her life was cut short when she was killed on January 3, 1932.
Though her achievements in film were overshadowed as the industry evolved and silent films faded, Maria P. Williams’ pioneering work paved the way for countless women filmmakers today. Her story is an important part of the history of cinema, and without her, the film industry might look very different. Thanks to her, we can see just how far women in film have come.
