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Key words: D.W. Griffith, Black newspapers, Abraham Lincoln, The Birth of a Nation, blackface, Chicago Defender.
DW. Griffith had a long and complicated relationship with the black press. Rather than being ignored or continuously disparaged after The Birth of a Nation's premiere in 1915, Griffith appeared on the pages of black newspapers in a variety of ways throughout the duration of his career, as his films inspired both criticismand praise.
Film and cultural historians such as Thomas Cripps, Anna Everett, Janet Staiger, and Melvyn Stokes have often focused on the initial reception of The Birth of a Nation in the mid-1910s. They have explored how literary figures, journalists, social reformers, politicians, and religious and labor leaders penned articles that picked apart the film's racist view of America's Reconstruction years, scrutinized the film's aesthetic qualities, and argued what should be done to bar, disrupt, or alter its exhibition.1 However, scholars have paid far less attention to the black press's coverage of Griffith and his films in the years that followed.
The Baltimore Afro-American, California Eagle, Chicago Defender, New York Age, New York Amsterdam News, Norfolk Journal and Guide, Philadelphia Tribune, and Pittsburgh Courier continued to report on The Birth of a Nation as it was periodically revived throughout Griffith's career. These media organs made a nationwide black population aware of protests waged against the film, examined the reasons why it produced such a vehement response, and advocated forms of opposition.2 Newspapers did not necessarily assume the same editorial perspective, nor were they exhaustive in their coverage. The press encouraged audiences to think critically about the film and for citizens to see their efforts as part of a larger resistance, a collective struggle and notmerely the isolated acts of individuals.
The Birth of a Nation, however, did not dominate these newspapers' coverage of Griffith's later work. Although black newspapers both commended and critiqued the director and his subsequent films, they received a far more positive reception than one might expect - or has previously been acknowledged. Newspapers positioned many of his films in the 1920s as part of the burgeoning production of mainstream Hollywood fare that featured big name stars, elaborate sets, and riveting visual effects. His films played in theatres catering to black audiences and...