TCM is showing a black movie, did somebody die? In the 70’s they had a kind of “separate but equal” scenario with white films / black films. Then somebody decided it was “exploitation” and black people no longer appeared in films at all (Oh excuse me, Denzel Washington, Will Smith & Halle Berry did). I think a lot of it was the Elites in Hollywood weren’t getting what they considered “their cut”, or have control of what was getting made. In time I think the quality of the films would have naturally improved and become a serious venue outside of Hollywood control. Kind of what Tyler Perry did by moving his operation to Atlanta. He had total control and he kept the profits, becoming one of the wealthiest men around.