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Group Protests Showing Of 'Birth Of A Nation' At UNC-G Wednesday
Film Sparks Protest At UNC-G
Larry Moon, a graduate student at-the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a
counselor at Hinshaw Dormitory, never has
seen D.W. Griffith's epic film, "The Birth of a
Nation." But Wednesday afternoon he nonetheless led about 30 students who protested
the showing of the movie at the school.
Moon, the group's spokesman, said the university should have canceled the controversial
but classic film because it will inflame racial
tensions in Greensboro. The school should be
more sensitive to the feelings of city residents
who already are apprehensive about the upcoming verdict in the trial of six Ku Klux
Klansmen and Nazis on murder charges, he
said.
But Allen Trelease, a UNC-G professor and
author of a book about the Klan during Reconstruction called "White Terror," said the
film, which was shown as part of a yearlong
American history course, is an invaluable tool
in teaching students about racism at the turn
of the century. •
Scholars and minority leaders have debated
the merits of the film since before it was released in 1915. Minority spokesmen say the
movie romanticizes the Klan, demeans blacks
and supports both white supremacy and racism. The NAACP picketed and organized a
highly successful boycott of the movie from
1915 until World War II.
Scholars, on the other hand, say the film is
an ideal tool for teaching students the prevalent attitudes and racism of the early 1900s.
Although they say the movie is not historically accurate, they add it does correctly portray
the thinking of many people, including histori- j
ans, at the turn of the century.
The film also is an important milestone in
the art of moviemaking. It was one of the first
feature-length movies, and pioneered a number of technical innovations now widely used
by Hollywood. "The making of The Birth of a
Nation' was a magnificant effort of sustained
creativity," according to the Oxford Compendium to Film. "Nothing on such a scale had
been attempted in the cinema before."
The latest controversy over the film, which
has been picketed at such disparate schools as
Harvard and UNC-G, did not conclude until
the entire movie was shown at least once in
Greensboro. But a second showing, planned
for Wednesday evening, was rescheduled. •
Dr. Ann Saab, chairwoman of UNC-G's his
tory department, said the film, which w.
shown in an attempt to stimulate discusaio'
was rescheduled because "we didn't want t
wound the feelings of some of our black et\
I dents and create a setting which might caw
a lot of hoopla. Our purpose in Bhowing tl.
film was certainly not to endorse it."
Several spokesmen for the school said th
film has been shown before and is part of
course which examines other philosophic
such, as Nazism and communism.
While debate over the film's' merits h.
raged, radical groups at both fringes of tl,
political spectrum have confronted each otht
whenever it has been shown. In July 1979, ft
instance, the Communist Workers Party an
a faction of the Klan, which was' showing tl
film by invitation only, squared off in Chii
Grove. Violence was narrowly averted a
though the CWP tore down and burned
Confederate flag. , r »
Klan groups constantly use the film as
recruiting tool, showing it'at-rallies to gh
arguments in support of white supremac
some legitimacy. Historians say the movi>
which was released while Jim Crow laws wei
(See Film: D-14, CoL 1)
m Sparks Protest At UNC-G
From D-l
Ijeing passed and while segregation was being institutionalized, exacerbated racial tension in the '20s
ajid helped rejuvenate the Klan.
', •■ The film, the historians say, does reflect the ra- .
cist views of many Southern whites during Recon- _.
struction. It is based on "The Clansman" and "The
^eopard's Spots," two books in a series about Reconstruction by Thomas Dixon Jr.
It is the story of two families, the Southern
Camerons and the Northern Stonemans. The film
tells how Ben Cameron became a leader in the Klan
m an attempt to avenge the death of his younger
$ister, who died after an attempted rape by several
hlar-k poldlVrs. TV Pa-nprnr, fnm'lv is hc-sir-p-prl bv Bri
army of black soldiers but escapes after a dramatic
rescue by the Klan. ,
"I,know of no better way to acquaint this generation of students with the racism and hatred prevalent at the turn of the century," said Trelease. The
film's racist message is so blatant that, Trelease
said, he doubts it will be accepted.
