Imitation of Life in a segregated Atlanta: its promotion, distribution and reception

Conducting primary research using local newspaper accounts of the opening of John Stahl’s Imitation of Life (1934), the authors compare and contrast the nature of the coverage of the film in black and white newspapers. They also compare the film’s mostly positive reception in black Atlanta with its generally negative reception by African Americans in the North and Mid-West. The essay also includes extensive discussion of the film’s black stars, Louise Beavers and Fredi Washington.