In Cara Caddoo’s book “Envisioning Freedom”, chapter 6, titled “Mobilizing an Envisioned Community”, examines the inspiring black communities, mainly during the years 1915-1917, and their fight for racial justice with endless campaigns to terminate the film “The Birth of a Nation”. D.W. Griffith created this photoplay with the vision of creating a story of the civil war and the KKK nightriders fighting to protect white women and their safety. The play turned out to be incredibly racist and depicted many black men as rapists and other misrepresentative roles. Campaigns and protests launched all over the nation, beginning with the launch in Los Angeles in 1915. Many campaigns were led by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The association’s progression and success throughout the campaign made them the most influential civil rights organization of the time. However, in late February of 1915, the film premiered in Los Angeles. Protests ignited all over the country, especially in New York where the play way expected to be released next. Over the course of the campaign, the NAACP’s membership grew immensely. The association started off with 5,000 members and escalated to 10,000 by the end of 1915, and then 90,000 by the year 1919. As the spirit and dedication of people in the black community grew, the awareness for the misrepresentation of African Americans in the film industry grew as well. This led the way to the emergence of a new black film production industry.
I think what Cara Caddoo is hoping to show her audience in this chapter is that with all the hurt and devastation that came with this time period, there was also hope for a brighter future for this “envisioned community”. The mass protests and progression as a community towards a common goal created an envisioned community for modern black life and the rise of the race film industry.
It’s pretty incredible how such a sense of community and unity arose out of such an offensive film. Even though African Americans were so heavily prejudiced against during the early 20th century, the galvanization of people toward racial equality during the time was certainly a historical turning point. Considering how we now look back and think that the KKK being heroes of a story is ridiculous, it is important to realize that the reason society no longer holds such blatantly racist views is due to people like NAACA members who were passionate and committed to calling them out and changing those ideas.
Its somewhat disconcerting that these protests of Birth of a Nation were sometimes interpreted as staged advertisement for the film…. In “A Vicious and Hurtful Play,” the film was limited to only a few theaters in Boston (like the Tremont, which is in the center of the theater district). Images of protests in the Boston Commons show that even after the “progress narrative” additions, public outrage continued… it’s no coincidence that the Lincoln Motion Picture Company was founded the year after Birth of a Nation was released.
I remember learning about Birth of a Nation in high school and its critical importance in the African American movement. However, I did not know that it was important because of the controversy that it caused and the way it mobilized unity and community among African Americans. I wonder if Griffith knew what he was getting into when he created this film and put in scenes of controversial topics such as the KKK and civil war.