“The Creation of a Right Public Spirit”: The Hampton Institute's Pioneering Use of Sponsored Films, 1912–1917

Abstract

This study documents the Hampton Institute's use of silent films as part of its orchestrated persuasive campaign efforts from 1912 to 1917. Although none of the films produced during this period are known to survive, descriptive accounts indicate the films carried a message of black uplift through black self-help via industrial education to both black and white audiences. With one exception, Hampton's use of promotional films helped it achieve its goals. That one exception was the addition of Hampton footage as an epilogue to The Birth of a Nation. In spite of this one slip, Hampton's commitment to filmmaking represented an early, enlightened vision concerning the potential power of the then fledgling medium as a public relations vehicle.