Birth of a Movement

Name: Birth of a Movement
Director: Bestor Cram
Genre: Documentary
Released: 2017-02-06
Duration: 57 min
Rating: 6.4
Cast: Danny Glover, Spike Lee, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Reginald Hudlin

The Battle Against America's First Blockbuster

20170h 57m★ 6.4Dir. Bestor Cram

Documentary

In 1915, Boston-based African American newspaper editor and activist William M. Trotter waged a battle against D.W. Griffith’s technically groundbreaking but notoriously Ku Klux Klan-friendly The Birth of a Nation, unleashing a fight that still rages today about race relations, media representation, and the power and influence of Hollywood. Birth of a Movement, based on Dick Lehr's book The Birth of a Movement: How Birth of a Nation Ignited the Battle for Civil Rights, captures the backdrop to this prescient clash between human rights, freedom of speech, and a changing media landscape.