- Evelyn Preer (1896-1932) was a dramatic actor who performed during the Harlem Renaissance. Born Evelyn Jarvis in Vicksburg, Mississippi, she moved to Chicago with her family at a very early age. She became a film star of the Black movie producer and theatrical pioneer, Oscar Micheaux, and starred in Micheaux's first Black silent film, The Homesteader, produced in 1917. When Preer joined The Lafayette Players in 1920, she Page 418 →soon became the leading lady and was the star of that popular dramatic stock company for twelve years. Lauded for her talent and beauty by leading directors, such as Micheaux and David Belasco, she remained, until her death, popular with the Black theater critics of the day and is credited with opening doors and paving the way for Black performers who were to come after her.
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