November 24, 1947 - Hollywood 10

Human Rights a Day

The Hollywood 10 jailed for contempt during the Red scare. As a U.S. Congress committee sought out “un-American activities” in the late 1940s and early 1950s, even Hollywood unions came under scrutiny for signs of a communist influence. A number of Hollywood screen writers and directors refused to answer questions this committee asked of them. This prompted officials to cite 10 of them (soon to be known as the “Hollywood 10”) for contempt on November 24, 1947. The next day, the Association of Motion Picture Producers fired the Hollywood 10 and voiced support for the committee. These 10 Americans invoked their 1st amendment’s right to free speech and peaceable assembly as their defence, but the courts ignored that and sentenced them for up to a year in prison. All spent time in jail in 1950, only to find themselves blacklisted as “communist sympathizers” when they had done their time. They were unable to work in their field for more than a decade.