Released four years after D.W. Griffith’s “Birth Of A Nation”, Within Our Gates is a silent film that dramatically depicts the racial situation in America during the violent years of Jim Crow, the Ku Klux Klan, the Great Migration, and the emergence of the “New Negro”.
We’re showing this rare film in 8 parts to start our 100 years of Black Cinema focus for February.
1920 promotional poster
Lost for decades, a single print of the film, entitled La Negra (The Negress), was discovered in Spain in the 1970s. In 1993, the Library of Congress restored the film as close to the original as possible.
WITHIN OUR GATES Screening and Panel Feb 25, 7pm, 201
Post-Film Panel Discussion – Moderator: Salim Muwakki, WVON; Panelists: Timuel Black, Professor Emeritus of Social Science at the City Colleges of Chicago; Nina Cartier, Doctoral Candidate at Northwestern University; and Floyd Webb, filmmaker/producer
All screenings will be held at the ICE Chatham Theaters, 210 West 87th Street, Chicago. Showtime is 7:00PM and admission is $5.00 for all screenings listed above. A post-film discussion will follow each screening. For program information or private group screenings, contact Venisha White Johnson at 773-892-3204 ext. 2 or venishajohnson@icetheaters.com.