Representation of Racism
The film portrayed several aspects of contemporary African-American society. Heroes and heroines included Sylvia Landry and Reverend Jacobs, criminals such as Larry, and "lackeys" such as a minister whom Mrs. Stafford supported, who encouraged African Americans to reject suffrage. The critic Ronald J. Green suggests that Bernice Ladd as Mrs. Stafford, represents a "Lillian Gish figure", referring to her role in The Birth of a Nation. She was racist and anti-feminist. Green notes that Micheaux intended the links between the films, and cast Ladd in part for her physical resemblance to Gish.
Efram, a servant to Gridlestone, denounced Mr. Landry as the murderer, although he was not a witness to the crime. Overturning the relationship which Efram believed he had with whites, a mob lynched him when it failed to find the Landrys.
Micheaux recognized the complexity of African-American life. He did not blame only whites for the poverty of rural blacks, and criticized African Americans who helped to perpetuate their condition for personal gain.
Read more about this topic: Within Our Gates
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