As a kid growing up in Lumber, Arkansas during the 1940s and ‘50s, James Wheeler fell in love with Black cinema.
His parents often showed the small, independent films at their juke joint, giving the movies the opportunity to be shown to a larger audience. And it made an impact on James, who saw characters that looked like him on the big screen at a time when that was rare.
By the time his family made the Great Migration to Detroit, James’ passion grew from avid watcher to collector and film historian of hundreds of Black films from the 1920s onwards, along with movie posters, records and books, his son Ali Wheeler said. James also became an actor, performing at Black theater company Concept East in the 1960s. Two decades later, he opened his collectibles business Concept East II.
Since James Wheeler’s death in 2022, Ali and his sister Alima Wheeler Trapp have been carrying on their father’s legacy. They started their business, The Black Canon, in 2019 and more recently its nonprofit arm, The Black Canon Collection, a charitable and educational platform with the goal of curating, preserving and archiving the collection.
To raise awareness about the organization, The Black Canon is hosting a fundraiser, “Art of the Ages,” 12- 4 p.m. Sunday at Taylor’d Garden in Livonia. The event will include brunch from chef Rashard Carodine, a panel discussion with emerging artists, live entertainment and a curated art exhibit featuring pieces from 1910 to 1990. Tickets are $65 and are available on Eventbrite.
Wheeler Trapp said her father’s preservation work was something ahead of his time and that he didn’t get the recognition he deserved while he was here. Continuing to preserve and archive his collection is a “responsibility and privilege,” she added.
“A lot of these things are already not known to the Black community and then just the broader community at large,” she said. “And so, I think protecting these stories and narratives and making sure that we have this history to tell is of critical importance. I mean, it’s amazing that there are things in there that are 100 years old that are in our hands, that people have never seen or touched before.”
Building a true legacy
Even before Wheelers’’ passing, the siblings began helping their father with his collection by consolidating it in one place. By then, their father had amassed more than 40,000 pieces of media. Wheeler Trapp said the basement and garage were full of items and he had several storage units. They eventually moved everything into a large warehouse.
“We were exposed growing up to some of that stuff, but it was really when it got all in one place that we saw the sheer volume of everything because we had to physically have that stuff moved into the warehouse,” she said.
In addition to 5,000 films, the collection also includes 1,700 posters, around 12,000 records, plus numerous books, periodicals, photographs, flyers, toys and projectors. The collection features the works of entertainers like Dorothy Dandridge, Paul Robeson, Lena Horne, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday and Detroit native Herb Jeffries.
Since this was before the internet, Wheeler had to be creative in building his collection. He looked at classifieds in the newspaper, going to auction houses and estate sales, his daughter said. His son added that his father also found a community that loved to collect items just as much as he did.
“Some people didn’t know the value and would give this stuff away,” Ali Wheeler said. “Like, ‘Oh, they’re selling this poster for $10, but I really know it’s worth $150’ and then he would drive to get it. He and his friends would go on trips, sometimes throughout the Midwest to get these materials. And it was a competitive network as well. If one of them had something that the other one didn’t, they would tease each other.”
But Wheelerwasn’t always open to others seeing his collection, Ali Wheelersaid. He and his sister wanted to help their dad growing up but he was a little standoffish and proactive over the items.
“A couple years prior to his passing is when he said, ‘OK, I agree with you. I need to consolidate it,’ and that’s when we put it in the warehouse,” Wheeler said.
Finding the funds
For the last two years, the siblings have begun the long process of archiving and cataloging items. With the help of the institution The Gates Preserve, the two have archived all of the posters and 1,600 films, Wheeler said. One of the reasons for Sunday’s fundraiser is so that the Wheelers can continue the archival work, Wheeler Trapp said.
Their initial fundraising goal was $15,000 but now they’re aiming for $100,000. That will cover the costs of the warehouse for two years and the next steps in archiving.
“We started off small because we only thought the event could generate so much, but there is a lot of interest in what we’re doing,” Wheeler Trapp said. “We want to build awareness beyond the city. We need all the support we can get because the event is an investment as well for us to fundraise.”
Longer-term goals for The Black Canon include launching an online database for the public and partnering with production company Jomaja Films on a documentary about James Wheeler and his collection.
“My brother and I both have sons and we see this being generational,” Wheeler Trapp said. “We really want to set them up in a place where this is a true legacy and it’s passed on to them as well.”
Wheeler added that he believes their father would support the work he and his sister are doing.
“We’re obviously doing it a little bit differently than he did it, but I would hope he’s proud,” he said. “I believe so.”