Movies Undercut Education, Corrupt Young People, Oct. 1, 1920

"There is an evil in your city to-day more pernicious than the 13 bar rooms that used to exist here before the days of prhibition," declared Col. I.M. Meekins before an audience of several hundred men and women citizens of Elizabeth City last Sunday. That evil, said Col. Meekins, is the moving picture theatre. And Col. Meekins was speaking from the state of the Alkrama Theatre, the one Movie house for white people in the city. He was speaking on the subject of education, under the auspices of the Housewives' League. The meeting Sunday afternoon was staged in hte interest of the proposed $500,000 bond issue for Elizabeth City public schools and discussion of the moving picture wasn't on the program, but after the speaker had pointed out the value of education and the city's need for more school buildings and better school equipment, he attempted to show that the money might be wasted if after giving the child the best public school education that money could buy we permitted that child to get a distorted vision of life from uncensored picture shows night after night. Col. Meekins pronounced the moving picture the greatest educaitonal influence of modern times but it had been his observation that it eeducated in the wrong direction. He thought the pictures should be censored and that every community have a Board of Censors composed of broad minded citizens to pass upon the pictures hown in that community. He thought all the preachers in town should attend the pictures every night for at least 10 mights and then meet and compare notes. He said a lot of preachers didn't know what themoving pictures were doing to undermine the morals of the community, because the preachers felt themselves above going to the Movies. His remarks were roundly applauded. (From the front page of The Independent, Elizabeth City, N.C., October 1, 1920)