Chapter 1: The Horsemen
The HorsemenIt was a moment of triumph and truth for most, loss and trepidation for others, as the forty-piece orchestra played their final note in accompaniment of The Birth of a Nation. Silent film aficionados applauded the groundbreaking technical artistry, but the spontaneous standing ovation related more to the fresh retelling of the old post–Civil War reconstruction-era story. Upscale New Yorkers who paid two dollars per ticket, ten times the normal price, were both entertained and informed; they finally understood Southern gentility as well as the evils foisted upon the South in the years following the war. Dorothy Montgomery and her friend, Hilda, stayed until the celebration ended and hugged each other as they clutched their tickets, which would serve as proof of their participation on March 3, 1915, the day it all started . . . the day everything became clear.
The two friends passed through the last set of doors and admired the oversized billboard across the street from the Liberty Theatre, which featured two of the characters depicted in the film. Dorothy pointed in the direction of Broadway as two men on horseback rode up Forty-Second Street and dismounted in front of the Liberty. The men assumed the same exact positions as the images on the advertisement, uncovered their heads, and posed for the cameras. A street vendor screamed, “Get your KKK hoods here!” Dorothy reached for her purse as a voice came from behind. “Don’t even think about it.” She sighed and said goodnight to her friend—the fun was over.
“Oh, James. Don’t you have anything better to do than follow me around? I’ll do what I please. Go home. The days of us acting like husband and wife are over. Don’t worry, I’ll get home on my own.”
“You’ll do no such thing and we’re not going to wait to talk about this.” He hailed a taxi and held the door for his wife.
“Explain yourself, Dorothy. You know what this means.”
“Yes, I do—at long last, people are speaking the truth. Look up at that billboard. Those hooded men on horseback are saving our country. We heaped a tremendous amount of pain on the South after the war and the Coloreds are taking away White rights and preying on White women. This has to stop! The Birth of a Nation speaks the truth, whether you believe so or not.”
“That’s all bullshit! The KKK is nothing but an organized group of thugs who hide their faces. They are the ones who are doing the preying. You’ve got it backwards. How can you buy into this racist crap? What happened to you?”
Dorothy didn’t answer and turned to look out her window. James did the same. The car bumped as it rolled over rough stretches of road and then stopped suddenly as the driver almost missed the turn onto Fifth Avenue. James grabbed his armrest to steady himself and broke the silence. “Once he understands, he’ll never forgive you for doing this . . . you can’t take this position.”
Dorothy turned her head toward her husband, took a breath, and whispered, “I don’t care what he thinks at all. Things make so much sense now. I can and will take this stance. A few of my friends are joining the Women of the Ku Klux Klan and I’m signing up too. Who knows, maybe I’ll host a Ku Klux Ball where we all dress up like Klansmen. What fun!”
“Do that and we’re done. I’ll leave and this farce of a marriage will be over. You’ll be nothing more than a lonely, old, divorced woman. Is that what you want?” James paused but received no response other than a glare. “Have your party and you’ll see what I do.”
Dorothy exhaled deeply. “Oh, James, don’t make idle threats. We’re done when I say we’re done and I’m tired now and think I’ve had enough for one night. Let’s continue this lovely conversation in the morning.”
“I’m giving you one last warning. You can’t do this to him . . . he’s our son. This is unforgivable.”
She stared into her husband’s eyes. “That Black bastard isn’t my son. Never was and never will be. Don’t you ever forget that! If you leave, he goes with you, and when you die, he’ll be out the door before they lower you into the ground.” The taxi stopped in front of their building. “Pay the man. Remember, the money may be in your wallet, but it’s all mine. Tonight is about the truth, James, and that, my dear husband, is yours.”
Chapter 2
