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Recount historic moments in history with Jerry Mitchell

Nov. 25, 1915

A week before the silent film, “Birth of a Nation,” premiered at an Atlanta theater, William Simmons, along with 15 other men (including some who lynched Leo Frank) burned a cross on Stone Mountain, Georgia, signaling the rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan.

The movie’s racist portrayals of Black Americans prompted outrage by the NAACP and others, leading to huge protests in towns such as Boston and the film’s closing in Chicago.

Despite these protests, the movie became Hollywood’s first blockbuster, making as much as $100 million at the box office (the equivalent of $2.4 billion today). In the wake of the movie, the KKK became a national organization, swelling beyond 4 million members.

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On this day in 1915

by Jerry Mitchell, Mississippi Today
November 25, 2023

					<h1>On this day in 1915</h1>
<p class="byline">by Jerry Mitchell, Mississippi Today <br />November 25, 2023</p>
					<br />
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://cdn.mississippitoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/06130831/OnThisDay-FinalLogo_page-banner-2-1200x151.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1089732" /></figure>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-nov-25-1915"><mark class="has-inline-color has-primary-color">Nov. 25,  1915</mark></h3>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://cdn.mississippitoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/06083820/Nov25-Birth_of_a_Nation_theatrical_poster.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1106544" /></figure>
<p>A week before the silent film, “Birth of a Nation,” premiered at an Atlanta theater, William Simmons, along with 15 other men (including some who lynched Leo Frank) burned a cross on Stone Mountain, Georgia, signaling the rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan. </p>
<p>The movie’s racist portrayals of Black Americans prompted outrage by the NAACP and others, leading to huge protests in towns such as Boston and the film’s closing in Chicago.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Despite these protests, the movie became Hollywood’s first blockbuster, making as much as $100 million at the box office (the equivalent of $2.4 billion today). In the wake of the movie, the KKK became a national organization, swelling beyond 4 million members.</p>

					<p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://mississippitoday.org/2023/11/25/on-this-day-in-1915-cross-burning-in-georgia-signals-klan-rebirth/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://mississippitoday.org&quot;&gt;Mississippi Today&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.&lt;img src=&quot;https://cdn.mississippitoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/06074517/MT_icon-logo-favicon-1-200x200.png&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;&lt;img id=&quot;republication-tracker-tool-source&quot; src=&quot;https://mississippitoday.org/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=1107412&amp;amp;ga4=G-VSX4B701MS&quot; style=&quot;width:1px;height:1px;&quot;&gt;</p>

On this day in 1915

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Nov. 25, 1915

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Jerry MitchellInvestigative Reporter