April 1 - 29
Today is Friday, April 15
DAY 11: RACISM & THE ORIGINS OF FILM
Today's Topic:

The first celluloid film was shot in 1888, just 23 years after the end of the civil war. Since then, the medium of film has been a powerful tool, both for perpetuating white supremacy and for challenging it. One of the darkest chapters in the history of Hollywood is the institutionalization of the Hays Code 1934 and 1968, a self-imposed set of guidelines that ensured that ideas and depictions in opposition to institutionalized racism, sexism, and homophobia, would not have a platform in mainstream film of the time. 

Please note we will be sharing a variety of resources from third parties which convey a broad spectrum of perspectives. Some information may be interpreted differently based on our own experiences. We ask that you keep an open mind as we take these steps together and that you provide your feedback upon the close of the challenge. As a 501(c)3, the YWCA Greater Harrisburg is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization. 
BEFORE YOU GET STARTED...
  • If haven't already, download your 21-Day Challenge Reflection Journal to process.
  • Share your participation on social media with the special graphic below, using the hashtag #YWCAHBG21DayChallenge.
  • If you're a group lead, you can access the group toolkit here.
READ x 2
Key Facts:

The film bolstered the idea that the Klan was there to save the South from savage Black men raping white women, a racist myth that would be propagated for years.
Read this article about how the film 'The Birth of a Nation' which premiered just 50 years after the end of the civil ware and depicted the KKK as the heroes of the post-civil war south, was used as a recruiting tool and led to a nationwide revival of the Klan in the 1920s.

Source: History.com
Time: 5 minutes
Did You Know?

"Race film” was a genre during the Jim Crow era, referring to movies created for and by Black people partly as a way to commit to screen the discrimination they faced.

These Black filmmaking pioneers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries helped shape the modern film industry and often challenged the cartoonish, tired, and racist stereotypes pushed out by those who held the most power in Hollywood in its earliest years.
Read this article exploring the lives of 9 Black trailblazers who helped shape the film industry and how they both challenged, and were sometimes made to play into, the cartoonish, tired, and racist stereotypes pushed by those who held power in Hollywood.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes
Time: 8 minutes
WATCH x 2
Watch this video on the impact of the history of yellowface in film and the continued whitewashing Asian characters on Asian Americans.

Source: Teen Vogue
Time: 7 minutes
Watch this video explaining blackface’s harmful history as a staple of film up through the mid-20th century and how its legacy continues to be deeply damaging for Black representation.

Source: Turner Classic Movies
Time: 13 minutes
MORE WAYS TO ENGAGE TODAY
REFLECT & ACT

  • What movies or TV shows helped form your ideas about race and racism?

  • Over the course of the week, make a note of when you see harmful stereotypes being perpetuated in the movies and TV you watch. What did you find?
SHARE

  • Share one of today’s resources within your friend group or on your social media and start a conversation about what you’ve learned.

  • Share our 21-Day Challenge graphic on social media and encourage others to participate in the challenge and invest in social justice & racial equity. 
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