Abstract
Statement of Problem
Historians documenting the movement for censorship of the motion picture The Birth of a Nation have not fully recognized the significance of white allies. The support of people in influential and powerful positions was a critical factor in this interracial effort. This thesis looks at how the NAACP, the black press, and "white interventionists": prominent white citizens and white politicians worked in conjunction to suppress the film.
Sources of Data
The majority of my sources derive from newspaper clipping from the, black press, including the Chicago Defender, the Crisis, the Afro-American Ledger, and the New York Age. Additionally, I have used some reviews and commentaries from the white press, including the New Republic and Variety. I have also used census records from the Statistical Abstract of the United States, and memoirs from some prominent white citizens.
Conclusions Reached
I conclude that white interventionists were a critical component in the movement for censorship, as they were able to garner media attention and raise awareness for the cause. Additionally, politicians often publicly condemned or banned Birth as a means of garnering the black vote. I also determine that the crucial cooperation between the NAACP, the black press, and white interventionists sparked one of the first nonviolent, direct action campaigns for civil rights in the twentieth century.