But I will tell you one thing that makes summer uniquely enjoyable for someone like me. In June, July and August, the summer blockbusters are coming. You know, I'm someone who really loves a good movie, be it a silent film from the 1920s or an arthouse flick from the 2020s. I'm really fortunate to live in Baltimore, which has a couple of incredibly great movie theaters that continuously show revivals of cool films from all these different eras. Speaking of which, I recently had the good fortune to have a captivating conversation with a UMBC faculty member who studies some of the individuals who helped to initially make Hollywood into the entertainment powerhouse that it is. Now while you might be thinking of early cinema giants like Buster Keaton, or Charlie Chaplin, my conversation revealed that Hollywood's ascendancy actually had a lot to do with a far different sphere of entertainment, one that helped create not only stars of screen and stage, but also a bevy of powerful black entrepreneurs, who came to influence American show business far before the Civil Rights era. This is the world of black vaudeville. And my guide to its fascinating origins and its powerful effects in American culture is Dr. Michelle Scott, Professor of History at UMBC. Dr. Scott, who's also an affiliate faculty member in Gender and Women's Studies, Africana Studies, and Language, Literacy, and Culture, has recently published a book on black vaudeville and its ascendancy. I was fascinated to learn about the origin stories of stars like Cab Calloway, Bessie Smith, and Sammy Davis, Jr. and how their time with TOBA, or the Theater Owners Booking Association, led to their ascendance. Let's listen in, as Dr. Scott explains his fascinating history, as well as the social science methods that she uses to draw these important narratives from historical archives.