It’s about time!

If you’re a longtime fan of Turner Classic Movies (TCM), you’ll know that while they show tons of great classic films, their presenters haven’t been very diverse. While they’ve brought in guest presenters like Ava DuVernay, they have yet to have a person of color officially be on the main hosting roster until now.

Jacqueline Stewart will make history as TCM’s first African-American host. The Hollywood Reporter states that Stewart, a professor at the University of Chicago, National Film Preservation Board three-term appointee and author of Migrating to the Movies: Cinema and Black Urban Modernity, will make her debut September 15 when she hosts TCM’s presentation of Silent era films, Silent Sunday Nights.

She told The Hollywood Reporter she plans on making her time with TCM feel like “an extension of my classroom.”

“I only found out a few months ago,” she said to the outlet regarding when she was tapped to become a new TCM host. “When we first started talking about this opportunity, Silent Sunday Nights was floated, and I was like, ‘My dissertation was on Silent film!'”

We’ll be rooting for her when she adds yet another layer of dimension to TCM’s hosting roster.

READ MORE:

Turner Classic Movies to Showcase Films by Women Directors This Month (Ava DuVernay, Julie Dash, Euzhan Palcy, Kathleen Collins + More Included)

‘Burning Cane’: Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY Releasing Nabs 19-Year-Old Phillip Youmans’ History-Making Tribeca Winner

Photo credit: TCM