Synopses & Reviews
In a scene at the end of the Civil War, James Trotter, a sergeant in an all-black union regiment, marched into Charleston, South Carolina just as the Kentucky cavalry that included Colonel Roaring Jake” Griffith fled for their lives. The two men were bit players in the vicious struggle for their countrys future. Fifty years later their sons, Monroe Trotter and D.W. Griffith engaged in a public confrontation that roiled the entire country, pitching black against white, Hollywood against Boston, free speech against censorship and the focus of the attack was a film that depicted the events of the American Civil War:
The Birth of a Nation.
The film which included actors in black face, racist portraits of blacks and heroic portraits of the Ku Klux Klan, and the depiction of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln was although a silent movie loudly controversial. It was seen eventually by 25 million Americans, and was the first feature film ever to be shown at the White House, for President Wilson. But it sparked riots and lengthy unrest in Boston and, to a lesser extent, in Philadelphia; Chicago, Pittsburgh, Kansas City and Denver, among other cities, banned the movie entirely.
The drama was over what America was in 1915, the year of the films release. Which of the nations cherished ideals freedom of speech or civil rights for black Americans would prevail? Through the story of two men, one a technically brilliant film maker, the other an activist journalist, America debated its identity in full public view, up and down the nation. The Birth of A Nation is a classic social history of a country in transition, and a richly characterful account of the principles set in opposition to each other.
Review
A powerful rendering of an enduring conflict.”
Kirkus Reviews, STARRED reviewReview
No red-blooded American of today would favor censoring works of art. But while reading Dick Lehrs fascinating new book,
The Birth of a Nation, you may find yourself rooting for just that.”
Washington PostA notable new book” Boston Globe
Lively and well-researched” Wall Street Journal
”The Birth of a Nation is an important account of a volatile moment in the eternal debate over how a free country regulates unpleasant expressions of those freedoms.”Atlanta Journal-Constitution
a remarkable look at the power of mass media and the nascent civil rights movement at a pivotal time in American history.” Booklist, STARRED review
"Lehrs fascinating portrait of simmering American racial tensions moving into the early 20th century, and his spotlight on men and women who, intentionally or not, helped galvanize painful and necessary conversations about civil rights, race relations, and the power of mass media for decades to come." Library Journal, STARRED review
A powerful rendering of an enduring conflict.” Kirkus Reviews, STARRED review
Synopsis
In 1915, two menone a journalist agitator, the other a technically brilliant filmmakerincited a public confrontation that roiled America, pitting black against white, Hollywood against Boston, and free speech against civil rights.
Monroe Trotter and D. W. Griffith were fighting over a film that dramatized the Civil War and Reconstruction in a post-Confederate South. Almost fifty years earlier, Monroes father, James, was a sergeant in an all-black Union regiment that marched into Charleston, South Carolina, just as the Kentucky cavalryincluding Roaring Jack Griffith, D. W.s fatherfled for their lives. Griffiths film, The Birth of a Nation, included actors in blackface, heroic portraits of Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, and a depiction of Lincolns assassination. Freed slaves were portrayed as villainous, vengeful, slovenly, and dangerous to the sanctity of American values. It was tremendously successful, eventually seen by 25 million Americans. But violent protests
against the film flared up across the country.
Monroe Trotters titanic crusade to have the film censored became a blueprint for dissent during the 1950s and 1960s. This is the fiery story of a revolutionary moment for mass media and the nascent civil rights movement, and the men clashing over the cultural and political soul of a still-young America standing at the cusp of its greatest days.
About the Author
Dick Lehr, a professor of journalism at Boston University, has won numerous national and regional journalism awards. He is a former investigative reporter, legal affairs, and magazine writer for the Boston Globe, where he was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in investigative reporting. He is the author of The Fence: A Police Cover-up along Bostons Racial Divide, an Edgar Award finalist for best nonfiction, and coauthor of the New York Times bestseller and Edgar Award winner Black Mass: Whitey Bulger, the FBI, and a Devils Deal, and its sequel, Whitey: The Life of Americas Most Notorious Mob Boss. He lives outside Boston with his wife and four children.