being poor and uneducated are attributes that will lead African Americans into heaven. He preaches to his congregation that "white folks, with all their schooling, all their wealth, will most all fall into the everlasting inferno, while our race, lacking these vices and whose souls are more pure, most all will ascend to heaven." In one of the most heartbreaking and provoking scenes of the film, Old Ned after humiliating himself in a room full of whites, closes the door and turns from a smiling buffoon to a repulsed black man. It has all been a performance. Old Ned says to the camera, "Again, I've sold my birthright. All for a miserable mess of pottage." Hopeless and unfulfilled, he states: "Negroes and Whites - all are equal. As for me miserable sinner, hell is my destiny." Uncle Tom characters are a staple in mainstream media. As Old Ned reprimands himself, Micheaux implies that these characters are less than a man. References External links Stace England & The Salt Kings, original song, "Within Our Gates" with 1920 films American silent feature films United States National Film Registry films American black-and-white films Race films Films directed by Oscar Micheaux Films about race and ethnicity Articles containing video clips Surviving American silent films 1920s rediscovered films Rediscovered American films Anti-racism in the United States 1920s American films