On the anniversary of the removal of Lillian Gish’s name from the Bowling Green State University theater
that bore her name, a call to restore the name has been issued.
The request comes from three sources. The first is Anne Farley Gaines, who started a petition originally
begun to retain the name. The second is from Mike Kaplan, the producer of Gish’s last film “The Whales
of August.” The final source is Mary Carrig, the chapter leader of the Los Angeles area BGSU Alumni.
It was May 3, 2019 that the BGSU Board of Trustees voted to remove the Gish name from the theater, which
is now called the BGSU Film Theater.
Kaplan quoted Dame Helen Mirren, who was among the actors supporting the name restoration: “An actor
should not be penalized for the roles they play.”
Gish starred in more than 100 films, becoming one of the silent film era’s most famous actors.
Kaplan pointed out that Gish’s starring role in “Broken Blossoms,” (1919) was the first film with an
inter-racial love story. Gish played an abused woman in a relationship with an Asian shopkeeper.
A controversy over her name on the theater began when the BGSU Black Student Union showed Ava DuVernay’s
film “13th” as part of Black History Month celebrations. In that film, clips from the 1915 D.W. Griffith
movie “The Birth of a Nation” were used as part of discussions of racism in America. Lillian Gish was a
star in the film which was adapted from the Thomas F. Dixon, Jr. novel “The Clansman: An Historical
Romance of the Ku Klux Klan.”
The Task Force on the Gish Film Theater was formed by the university that recommended the name change.
The report issued by the task force stated, on Feb. 10, the “BSU noted the irony of showing ‘13th’ in a
theater named for the star of ‘The Birth of a Nation’ and brought to the university’s attention the
problematic nature of the Gish name for BGSU’s African American students.”
Gaines’ petition was started in April of last year with the goal of retaining the name and then was
changed to restoration of the name. The petition had 2,041 people sign it, with 31 countries and 48 U.S.
states represented.
“This is something to take serious note of, because this represents three states where there is the
largest number of theaters, including the film industry – California. And Ohio, where there was the
second-largest number of signers, is Lillian and Dorothy’s home state and where Bowling Green State
University is located,” wrote Gaines in her letter to BGSU President Rodney Rogers.
There were 286 signatures from California, 206 from Ohio and 190 from New York.
Carrig, a BGSU graduate and actor, was consulted for the Task Force Report and addressed the process in a
letter sent to the university along with Gaines’ petition for restoration.
“For the record, my mention in the task force suggested that I agreed with the university’s decision in
the handling of the Gish Film Theatre name removal. I strongly disagreed and wish to go on the record
that in no way did I agree with the university’s actions. I was, frankly, given a brief Skype meeting to
merely placate me. The decision had already been made,” she said.
Carrig has served as a BGSU Alumni chapter leader since 1996.
“We have a large and loyal chapter in Los Angeles. Our voices were not honored in this decision, one that
directly affects those of us in the entertainment industry. This was personal to us and we were not
given the opportunity to be properly heard,” she said.
“Sadly, the students, who were used as pawns in someone’s political agenda, are the losers here. They
were misled, manipulated and failed by the university. They were told what to say and never even
screened ‘Birth of a Nation.’”
Kaplan is also asking for the name of the theater be restored and that a new display be added with
references to the Gish Prize. He provided a sample graphic for the university showing the names of all
the prize winners and photos illustrating the broad array of their racial backgrounds. The prize has
been awarded since 1994.
“To heal the intolerance, ill will and injustice of the task force decision, the attached Gish Prize text
and images would bring immediate understanding of Lillian Gish’s essence, installed as a wall panel in a
prominent position, in the restored Dorothy and Lillian Gish Theater,” said Kaplan, a film producer.
The 2019 winner of $250,000 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize was landscape designer Walter Hood. The annual
prize is meant for an individual who has “made an outstanding contribution to the beauty of the world
and to mankind’s enjoyment and understanding of life.”
Other past winners include Bob Dylan and Spike Lee.
A request for comment from BGSU was not immediately returned.
