Edwards, Jack (fl. ca.1915) [Instructions for house managers for the showing of David W. Griffith's "The Birth of a Nation"]
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC05091 Author/Creator: Edwards, Jack (fl. ca.1915) Place Written: s.l. Type: Printed document Date: circa 1915 Pagination: 1 p. ; 28 x 21.5 cm. Order a Copy
Contains spaces for house managers to fill in information, including performance or film dates, company arrival and departure times, and manager names. Jack Edwards, a Southern Representative of the performance or film, instructs theater house managers regarding technical details, such as oiling the projection machines and tuning house pianos. States "Please bear in mind that NEGROES MUST NOT BE ADMITTED TO 'THE BIRTH OF A NATION' under any circumstances." The back of this document includes a list of names and mathematical calculations written in pencil. Edwards' permanent address is listed as Atlanta, Georgia. Date estimated based on the original release date of "The Birth of a Nation."
"The Birth of a Nation" was released in 1915, and has long been criticized for its racist elements and praised for its cinematic innovation. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which had been formed only a few years earlier in 1909, organized a coordinated protest of the film as well as an educational campaign refuting the historical claims made by the film.
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