Project 1 - Chronicle

Birth of a Nation and Within Our Gates

The early Twentieth Century was a tumultuous time for black citizens in America. Starting in the Nineteenth Century in the years during and after Civil War Reconstruction and continuing well into the Twentieth Century, constitutional rights gained for black citizens were continually marginalized or nullified by individuals and constitutions of individual States. Disenfranchising and extralegal statutes were in place to inhibit the advancement of the black race throughout America, North and South included. There were imposed literacy tests and poll taxes to stop black people from voting, not to mention countless murders and lynchings of black Americans. The case of Plessy v. Ferguson began the institutionalization of segregation in the southern United States. There were, however, rising movements to combat racial discrimination, most notably with the formation of the NAACP in 1909 and the UNIA in 1914.

Amidst all of this, the budding motion picture industry had released one of, if not the most influential and damning films of all time: Birth of a Nation. Historical inaccuracies notwithstanding, the film depicts the black race as ignorant, slovenly, violent, sexual deviants, and less than human. The film led to the formation of the “second” Ku Klux Klan and therefore was a devastating blow to burgeoning efforts of instilling equality. As damning as the film was to black Americans, it led to the incorporation of the first black production companies and a new genre of films: Race Films (or, more commonly, Race Movies). It took about five years for direct response to the derogatory portrayal of black Americans in Birth of a Nation with the release of Oscar Micheaux’s Within Our Gates. Between and surrounding these film’s productions lies a period of growth and much hardship for the black community.

1892, June 7 - An act of segregation aboard a Louisiana train led to Plessy v. Ferguson, the infamous case that gave rise to the segregation laws of the South.

1909 – The formation of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), a civil-rights organization founded to meet the challenges facing "people of color."

1913 - The Wilson administration began government-wide segregation of work places, rest rooms and lunch rooms.

1914 - Marcus Garvey establishes the UNIA (Universal Negro Improvement Association), an influential black nationalist organization "to promote the spirit of race pride" and create a sense of worldwide unity among blacks.

1914 – Madame C.J. Walker was America's first black (and female) millionaire. Her hair products were among the best-selling items in the black community. She became one of the first entrepreneurs to answer the needs of black consumers.

1915 – Birth of a Nation, a silent film directed by D. W. Griffith, is released in theatres. It is one of the most influential and controversial of American motion pictures. Based on Thomas Dixon's The Clansman, Birth of a Nation is noted for its innovative technical and narrative achievements, and its status as the first Hollywood "blockbuster." It has provoked great controversy for its positive treatment of white supremacy and sympathetic account of the rise of the Ku Klux Klan. When the film was shown, riots broke out in Boston, Philadelphia and other major cities.

1915 - Reorganization of the Klan in the South and throughout the nation. Atlanta becomes the headquarters of the newly revived Ku Klux Klan.

1915 - The boll weevil, a small Central American insect that feeds on cotton, begins devastating southern cotton fields, in Alabama specifically. Between 1915 and 1916 cotton production in Alabama, dropped from 155 pounds to 95 pounds per acre.

1915 – The beginning of ‘The Great Migration’ - the relocation of millions of black Americans out of Southern, rural areas to Northern cities.

1915 - Renowned black spokesman Booker T. Washington died on November 14.

1915 - Fifty-six black Americans are known to have been lynched.

1916 - The Lincoln Motion Picture becomes incorporated in Los Angeles, California. Among the first company of organized black filmmakers, it became the first producer of "race movies". The stated purpose of the film company was to make films to "encourage black pride" while upholding the social order of the period.

1916 - Fifty black Americans are known to have been lynched.

1917 – America enters World War I. Black soldiers fight in WWI, but they fight in completely segregated units (aka Buffalo Soldiers). The U.S. refused to break up units to be used as reinforcements for British Empire and French units but used Buffalo Soldiers in frontal assaults, which had long since been discarded by British Empire and French commanders because of the large loss of life.

1917 - One of the bloodiest race riots in the nation's history took place in East St. Louis, Illinois. Reports say that 40 to 200 people were killed, hundreds injured, and 6,000 driven from their homes.

1917 - Thousands of black Americans take place in a NAACP protest, marching down Manhattan's Fifth Avenue protesting lynchings, race riots, and the denial of rights.

1917 – Thirty-six black Americans are known to have been lynched.

1918 – World War I ends and returning black veterans are met with hostility in many areas. It was reported that seven veterans were killed while still wearing their Army uniforms.

1918 – Two separate race riots took place in Pennsylvania (Chester and Philadelphia). In total, 6 blacks and 3 whites were killed.

1918 - Sixty black Americans are known to have been lynched.

1919 – Author and successful homesteader Oscar Micheaux formed his own movie production company. He wrote, directed and produced the silent motion picture The Homesteader, based on his own novel.

1919 – Being dubbed the ‘Red Summer of 1919,’ race riots erupted in several cities in both the North and South of the United States.

+ May 10 - Charleston, South Carolina.

+ July 13 - Gregg and Longview counties, Texas.

+ July 19-23 - Washington, D. C.

+ July 27 - Chicago.

+ October 1-3 - Elaine, Arkansas.

1919 – The beginning of the Harlem Renaissance - A period of almost fifteen years when some of the most important and prolific writers, artists and musicians emerged in the black community and took up residence in New York's Harlem district.

1919 - There were 83 recorded lynchings and the Ku Klux Klan held more than 200 public meetings.

1920 – The black population in the United States reaches 10% - over 10 million citizens.

1920 – Director, producer, and writer Oscar Micheaux releases Within Our Gates, a silent race film that dramatically depicts the racial situation in America during the violent years of Jim Crow, the Klan, and the Great Migration. As a response to D.W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation, he most notably reversed a key scene of Griffith's film by depicting a white man assaulting a black woman.

1920 - Fifty-three black Americans are known to have been lynched.