within our gates

"Within Our Gates" is a 1920 American silent race drama film produced, written, and directed by Oscar Micheaux. It is the oldest known surviving film by an African-American director and serves as a cinematic indictment of racial discrimination in the United States during the early 20th century. The film addresses significant issues of its time, including racial violence, lynching, the effects of Jim Crow laws, and the struggle for African-American education and civil rights. The story centers on Sylvia Landry, an educated African- American woman who travels North to raise funds to save a school for poor Black children in the Deep South. The film includes themes of racial injustice, mixed-race identity, and critiques the white supremacist ideologies prevalent during the era. It was made as a response to the racist epic "The Birth of a Nation" and incorporates complex portrayals of African-American society, challenging stereotypes and racial violence narratives. "Within Our Gates" is historically important and recognized for its bold social commentary and contribution to African-American cinema. It was censored in its time but restored in 1993 and preserved as a vital cultural artifact illuminating systemic racism in early 20th-century America.