Despite their efforts black activists throughout the early 20th century were not able to
achieve full equality and fair treatment in society. However they gained a new way of thinking
that resulted in the formation of the New Negro. This term in essence designates a new way of
thinking in the black community. Its members were neither satisfied with nor accepted their
inferior position in society and were willing to fight for their rights. Phenomena that
paradoxically had a positive impact on the black community as a whole and especially on the
New Negro were the actions undertaken by African Americans all over the United States in
response to D.W. Griffiths racist 1915 silent movie The Birth of a Nation.It is the aim of this
paper to prove that these activities undertaken by African Americans and their supporters in
the early 20th century against The Birth of a Nation influenced and shaped the black community
as a whole but especially the notion of the New Negro both politically and culturally.
