One hundred years ago, blackface and other offensive media representations of African-Americans were not only common, but they were also celebrated. Few cultural moments encapsulate this more fully than D.W. Griffith’s “The Birth of a Nation” (1915), a notoriously Ku Klux Klan-friendly reimagining of history.
“Birth of a Movement,” a new film now streaming on PBS, tells the story of William Monroe Trotter, an African-American newspaper editor and activist who, along with the then-newly formed NAACP, waged a battle against the film. Together, Trotter and leaders of the NAACP unleashed a conflict that still rages today about race relations, representation and the power of Hollywood.
Narrated by Danny Glover and featuring interviews from Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Spike Lee, “Birth of a Movement” captures the backdrop to this clash between human rights, freedom of speech and a changing media landscape.
Despite the progress we’ve made as a country, these issue are still very much relevant today.
Birth of a Movement is streaming free on PBS from now until March 5. For more information, visit pbs.org.
