Profiles of African-American Success

Profiles of African-American Success is an American documentary web series produced by Frances Presley-Rice and filmmaker Bayer Mack for their production company Block Starz Music Television. The documentary series features short biographies of African-American businesses and entrepreneurs.

Profiles of African-American Success
Created by	Frances Presley-Rice
Presented by	Various
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	7
No. of episodes	20
Production
Executive producers	Frances Presley-Rice Bayer Mack
Running time	2-4 minutes per episode
Production company	Block Starz Music Television
Original release
Network	BSMTV
Release	2014 (2014) – present

Development

Profiles of African-American Success was originally developed by executive producer Frances Presley-Rice in conjunction with The Washington Times as a ten-part weekly video series for Dr. Ben Carson's digital magazine, American CurrentSee.^[1] The series is now distributed exclusively by BSMTV through its official website, Vimeo and YouTube channels and on various community television stations.^[2] During the promotion for his documentary film, The Czar of Black Hollywood, director Bayer Mack said his goal with Profiles of African-American Success was to carry on The Czar of Black Hollywood's theme of celebrating black Americans who succeeded in the face of Jim Crow and other challenges.^[3]

Featured profiles

Profiles of African-American Success has featured the following black entrepreneurs and institutions:

• Junius G. Groves: Gilded Age Business Magnate
• Robert S. Abbott: Millionaire Newspaper Publisher
• Jeremiah G. Hamilton: The Dark Prince of Wall Street
• Harry H. Pace: America's First Black Record Label Owner
• Frederick D. Patterson: America's Only Black Car Manufacturer
• Homer B. Roberts: America's First Black Auto Dealer
• Reginald F. Lewis: America's First Black Billion Dollar Businessman
• Paul R. Williams: Architect to the Stars
• Don H. Barden: King of Detroit
• Richard "Dick" Griffey: Music Industry Kingpin
• Alpha Kappa Alpha: A Legacy of Sisterhood and Service
• Sylvia Robinson: Mother of Hip-Hop
• Gamble and Huff: The Sound of Philadelphia
• The Million Man March: 20 Year Anniversary
• Miss Black America: The Pageant Changed History
• Vee-Jay Records: Most Successful Black Owned Label Before Motown
• George E. Johnson, Sr.: First Black Company on American Stock Exchange
• Cathy L. Hughes: First Black Woman to Head a Publicly-traded Company
• Jerry Lawson: A Black Man Developed the First Cartridge Video Game Console
• Black Journal: America's Most Dangerous Public Television Show

Narrators

Season 1 of Profiles of African-American Success was presented by William Bell, who had worked with the producers on The Czar of Black Hollywood. Seasons 2 and 3 employed relatively unknown African-American voice actors and actresses. The premiere episode for Season 4 features narration by noted media professional Dyana Williams in a tribute to her friend, Radio One founder Cathy Hughes.^[4]

Reception

The critical and public response to the documentary series has been generally favorable with many praising its effort to showcase positive aspects of the African-American experience.^[5][6][7][8]