Initially, it was intended to be a short answer film that could be appended to The Birth of a Nation in 1915, but a combination of weak financial backing and growing ambitions delayed its completion for more than two years.

[1][2][3] When finally released in December 1918, The Birth of a Race was a two-hour feature-length film nothing like producer Emmett Jay Scott's original vision.

Key scenes portray Jesus preaching to crowds of all races and a black Simon of Cyrene helping carry the cross on the Via Dolorosa.

The story then shifts to United States history, briefly showing the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas, the American Revolutionary War, and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

Several outdoor scenes were filmed in Tampa in January, 1918, including ancient Egypt and the rescue of the infant Moses from a river and Simon of Cyrene helping Jesus carry his cross on the Via Dolorosa.

[4] A brochure pitching the film to potential investors reads:The Birth of a Race, the true story of the Negro — his life in Africa, his enslavement, his freedom, his achievements — together with his past, present and future relations with his white neighbor.