Thread by @ICGLocal600

Told “minorities could not learn how to use the cameras” (@nytimes, "When Women in Film and TV Were Looking for That Union Label"), Jessie Maple Patton took the union to court and became the first African-American woman to become a member of @IATSE Local 644 in 1975. (1/4)

In the union, Maple worked as an assistant and operator for several TV stations in New York including WABC, WCBS and WNBC. In 1974, Maple and her husband Leroy Patton started their own production company and began to produce short docs. (2/4) #InternationalWomensDay #IWD2019

In 1981, Maple produced “Will,” the first feature-length independent film produced by an African-American woman. She went on to direct the feature “Twice as Nice” and has been featured in such documentaries as “Sisters in Cinema” (2003) and “Women Behind the Camera” (2007). (3/4)

Maple documented her early years behind the camera and her struggle to get into the union in her 1977 book “How to Become a Union Camerawoman.” (4/4) #InternationalWomensDay #IWD2019 #WomensHistoryMonth