Terry Crews: From racist black characters to ‘Black Panther,’ we’ve come so far

In 1915, D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of A Nation (originally titled The Clansmen) was the first American motion picture screened at the White House. The film featured a romanticized, heroic view of the Ku Klux Klan, while blacks, in particular, were presented as evil, conniving, violent rapists.

Portrayed with righteous fervor by white actors, some in blackface, the film was enthusiastically praised by President Woodrow Wilson, who is reported to have gushed, “It is like writing history with lightning, and my only regret is that it is all so terribly true.”


Source : usatoday