With his thoughtful intelligent manner and splendid good looks, African American actor James Edwards came to epitomize the "new Negro" in post-World War II Hollywood film. His moderately successful motion picture acting career spanned four decades, from the late 1940s to his final appearance in 1970. His contribution to film history, however, is not attributed to a sterling performance in a wildly successful classic. Edward's legacy is that he was a ground-breaker, and his work helped to forge change during a significant period in American social history.

Younger film devotees may find it difficult to appreciate the impact that black film stars such as Edwards and his contemporaries Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte had on the psyche of postwar Blacks and Whites, and on the state of race relations in the United States. Edward's portrayal as a victim of bigotry in Home of the Brave...