NAACP Clashes With Society Over Film Ban Charges

Benjamin Crocker, Director of the Boston Film Society insisted last night that "Negro groups had put the pressure on" to cancel last Friday's showing of Birth of a Nation. His charge was denied by the president of the Boston National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Commenting on the fact that Crocker had posted a telegram from the NAACP as an explanation to patrons of the controversial film's cancellation, NAACP president Lionel Lindsay said, "I don't know who engineered this telegram, but we had no knowledge of Friday's showing." Lindsay is sending a letter criticizing Crocker's action to Associate Dean Robert B. Watson.

The date on the telegram, which implied a threat to picket the film, was May 28, 1948. The date was obscured by a large black arrow pointing to the text. Crocker said he used the outdated telegram "because the NAACP had protested before, and we wanted to convince people there was a strong feeling against the film."

Not Censors

Crocker refused to confirm Watson's statement that the University had asked him to withdraw the film because it would be unfair competition with student groups who had previously scheduled its showing. He agreed, however, that "the University had nothing to do with the censorship of the film."

Watson said he "had raised a strong protest" against Crocker's showing of "Birth of a Nation" when he learned Crocker had substituted the film in his program at the last minute.