Within Our Gates

Within Our Gates is a 1919 silent film about an African-American who goes North and helps a minister in the Deep South raise money to keep a school for poor Black children open. Directed by novelist Oscar Micheaux, it is the oldest known surviving film made by an African-American director. The film, which was written and directed by Micheaux, stars Evelyn Preer, Flo Clements, James D. Ruffin, Jack Chenault, William Smith and Charles D. Lucas.

The making of Within Our Gates

Within Our Gates was the second of some forty films directed by Micheaux and the most controversial. Made with a limited budget of just $15,000, he was forced to borrow costumes and props, and there was no opportunity to reshoot scenes. Furthermore, the story is convoluted, with many unresolved threads. Nevertheless, it is an important document of African American life in the years immediately following World War I, when racism was rampant throughout the United States.

Related Topics:
World War I - Racism

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Two events spurred the film's creation: the release of D. W. Griffith's classic The Birth of a Nation four years earlier, with its heroic portrayal of the Ku Klux Klan saving the South; and the Chicago Race Riot of 1919. It was banned in Chicago when it was released, the authorities claiming that the vivid lynch and rape scenes would spark further rioting in the racially tense city. Nevertheless, when it was finally released, large audiences lined up to see it.

Related Topics:
D. W. Griffith - The Birth of a Nation - Ku Klux Klan - Chicago - Race Riot - 1919

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Some critics also challenged what they considered to be the inherent racism that Micheaux displays in the film. In addition to his scathing critique of Black society, Micheaux seemed to prefer lighter-skinned Blacks as his heroes and heroines, and may have modelled Sylvia after characters played by Lillian Gish. In fact, Evelyn Preer, who played Sylvia, was instructed to wear chalk on her face to make herself appear lighter-skinned, and she and the other positive characters appear to be attempting to "pass" as white.

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Critics also question Micheaux's skill as a film-maker, calling his plots "strange" and comparing him unfavorably with Ed Wood. Yet, despite its many shortcomings, Within Our Gates has been deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

Related Topics:
Ed Wood - Library of Congress - National Film Registry

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