Editing Within Our Gates (section)

==Plot==
Sylvia Landry, a young African-American woman, visits her cousin Alma in the North. Sylvia is waiting for the return of Conrad as they plan to marry. Alma also loves Conrad. Larry, Alma's step brother, attempts to woo Sylvia but is rebuffed. Larry kills a professional gambler after cheating during a game of [[poker]]. Alma arranges for Sylvia to be caught in a seemingly compromising situation by Conrad when he returns. Conrad begins to strangle Sylvia but is stopped by Alma. Conrad leaves for [[Brazil]]. Sylvia returns to the South.

Sylvia meets Rev. Jacobs, a minister who runs a rural school for black children called Piney Woods School. The school is overcrowded, and Rev. Jacobs cannot continue on the small amount offered to blacks for education by the state. With the school facing closure, Sylvia volunteers to return to the North to try to raise $5,000.

Sylvia's purse is stolen in Boston. A man named Dr. Vivian chases after the thief and recovers the purse. After running into the street to save a child from being run over, Sylvia is hit by the car herself. As she recovers in the hospital, she meets the owner of the car - Elena Warwick, a wealthy philanthropist. Learning of Sylvia's mission, Elena decides to give her the needed money. When her Southern friend Mrs. Stratton tries to discourage her, Warwick increases her donation to $50,000. This amount will save the school, and Sylvia returns to the South.

Rev. Jacobs asks for Sylvia's hand in marriage, but Sylvia, now in love with Dr. Vivian, refuses. Larry, on the run from the police, runs into Sylvia and attempts blackmail with secrets of Sylvia's past. Instead of having her secrets revealed to the school by Larry, Sylvia runs away in the night and heads north. Later on, Dr. Vivian searches for Sylvia. Larry, who has run out of money and returned to Alma, is fatally shot during an attempted bank robbery. Dr. Vivian by chance ends up treating Larry and meets Alma. Alma tells Dr. Vivian about Sylvia's past: these flashback scenes are portrayed in the film. Sylvia was adopted and raised by a poor black family, the Landrys, who managed to provide her with an education.

During her youth, Sylvia's father Jasper Landry was wrongfully accused of the murder of Philip Gridlestone, an unpopular but wealthy white landlord, the accusation done by Philip's loyal black servant, Efrem. A white mob attacked the Landry family, [[lynching]] the parents and burning their bodies afterwards. Their young son Emil managed to escape after nearly being shot. The mob also lynched Efrem despite him collaborating with them. Sylvia also escaped after being chased and attacked by Armand Gridlestone, Philip's brother, who overpowered her and was close to raping her. Noticing a scar on her breast, Armand realized that Sylvia was in fact his [[mixed-race]] daughter, born of his marriage to a local black woman and had paid for her education.

After hearing about her life, Dr. Vivian meets with Sylvia; he encourages her to love her country and take pride in the contributions of African Americans. He professes his love for her, and they marry.