Banned in Boston · STOP 06 · Downtown / Theater District
In 1915 a Black editor was told The Birth of a Nation was sold out here, and the state's new censorship board called the film 'not at all objectionable.'
On April 17, 1915, William Monroe Trotter tried to buy a ticket to The Birth of a Nation at a theatre on Tremont Street, across from the Common. He was told it was sold out. Police arrested eleven people. Massachusetts passed a new censorship law, and the new board cleared the film. The theatre is gone; the corner it stood on is not.
This is stop 6 of Banned in Boston. Walk it - any two stops are free.
The plate
Collected on site
Tremont Street at Avery Street (Tremont Theatre was 176 Tremont St)
Directions
Trotter walked into the lobby around 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 17, 1915, with dozens of supporters, per the Boston Public Library.
More footnotes on the story card, in the app.
Near Boylston · Near Chinatown · Near Downtown Crossing · Near Park Street · Near Tufts Medical Center · Near Arlington
Sources (3)
- Astor Theatre (formerly Tremont Theatre), 176 Tremont StreetCinema Treasures · accessed Oct 2026
- The Birth of a Nation Sparks Protest (April 17, 1915)Mass Moments (Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities) · n.d. (accessed Oct 2026)
- Black History Boston: William Monroe Trotter and the Fight Against 'The Birth of a Nation'Boston Public Library · n.d. (accessed Oct 2026)