Luther J. Pollard (born January 4, 1878, died 1977) was an advertising executive and businessman in the film industry in Chicago. John W. Pollard was his father. He was a boxer and served in a "Colored" unit of the Union Army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. Luther's brother Frederick "Fritz" Douglass Pollard played football for

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

, worked for the studio, coached NFL football, and established the '' New York Independent News'' newspaper. Their sister,

Naomi Pollard Dobson Naomi Willie Pollard Dobson (October 11, 1883 – August 14, 1971) was an American librarian, educator, and civic leader based in Chicago and Sioux City, Iowa. In 1905, she became the first Black woman to graduate from Northwestern University. ...

, was a teacher and librarian who in 1905 became the first Black woman to graduate from

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

. His brother

Fritz Pollard Frederick Douglass "Fritz" Pollard (January 27, 1894 – May 11, 1986) was an American professional football player and coach. In 1921, he became the first African-American head coach in the National Football League (NFL). Pollard and Bobby Mar ...

discussed their family and the discrimination they faced in a 1979 interview he gave at Brown University. The 1976 documentary film ''The Very Last Laugh'' is about the Ebony Film Corporation and Pollard's filmmaking career in Chicago. It includes footage of Pollard being interviewed. William Franklin Grisham wrote and directed the film. Pollard said he rented the studio to

Oscar Micheaux Oscar Devereaux Micheaux (; January 2, 1884 – March 25, 1951) was an American author, film director and independent producer of more than 44 films. Although the short-lived Lincoln Motion Picture Company was the first movie company owned and c ...

to make '' Within Our Gates'' and other of his early films after Micheaux came to Chicago from

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury County, Iowa, Woodbury and Plymouth County, Iowa, Plymouth counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Iowa, fo ...

. Pollard said he had a sister who helped Micheaux edit the book.

References

Year of birth missing 1977 deaths 20th-century African-American businesspeople {{Improve categories, date=November 2023