Black Theatres and Integration
Failure to comply with these race laws could mean stiff fines for both
the offending patron and theatre owner alike. Black New Orleanians
who held movie tickets in their hands just like other paying customers
were directed to sit in theatre balconies.
During the period of segregation, if a film that attracted a black or cross-
over audience was playing at a downtown theatre that did not admit
blacks; the film company would have another run of the film at an all
black patroned theatre, as in the case of “Imitation of Life” starring
Lana Turner in March of 1959.
