jan 1, 1915 - The Birth of a Nation

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Directed by David Wark Grifith, The Birth of a Nation, is a nostalgic movie set in slave era. The 1915 film is a melodrama of the civil war and reconstruction. The film attempts to paint the image of true southern history where blacks threatened society by dominating southern whites and sexually forcing themselves on white women. In the film, blacks had to be monitored contantly by patriotic orginizations like the Klu Klux Klan. This was an untrue portrayal since during reconstruction whites dominated blacks and assaulted black women. The NAACP sent letters to governors of all states urging them to use their powers to prevent the showing of the film. The films influence resulted in the murder of Edward Manson, a black fifteen-year-old high school student, who was killed by a white man who had just come from a showing. The Klan also used it as a way to successfully launch a massive recruiting campaign brining in new members

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