Two Detroit siblings are working to preserve and share their late father’s life’s work: tens of thousands of historic artifacts tied to Black media and entertainment.
James Wheeler, who moved to Detroit from Arkansas during the Great Migration in 1958, spent decades collecting film posters, photographs, and memorabilia. That lifelong passion is now the foundation of The Black Canon, a nonprofit launched by his children, Alima Wheeler-Trapp and Ali Wheeler.
“The Black Canon is basically my father’s life work,” Wheeler-Trapp said. “If we don’t preserve these artifacts, they could actually be lost.”
While other kids collected baseball gloves or cards, James Wheeler collected film posters and artifacts, building what his children say is a “crazy collection” of more than 40,000 pieces.
“Personally, it’s extremely meaningful,” Ali Wheeler said. “He spent more than half of his life collecting these items.”
The collection represents one of the largest archives of Black film and media. It includes rare photographs, scripts and posters from a century of Black artistry.
“A lot of this information, people just don’t know about,” Wheeler-Trapp said. “People don’t know that there were 350 to 400 race films with all-Black casts, Black directors, [and] Black producers showing Black people in a positive light.”
The siblings say continuing their father’s work is not only a way to honor him but also a source of pride.
“I think of [what] my father did to persevere and collect this, and what me and my sister are doing right now, and that’s what makes me ‘Detroit Proud,'” Ali said.
The Black Canon will be featured in “Portraits and Power,” an exhibition happening on Oct. 4 at the Detroit Historical Museum.