D.W. Griffith was definitely a white supremacist

 Michele Faith Wallace's essay "The Good Lynching and ‘The Birth of a Nation’: Discourses and Aesthetics of Jim Crow" examines the relationship between the cultural and political context of the Jim Crow era in the United States and the representation of Black people in D.W. Griffith's film "The Birth of a Nation."

Wallace argues that "The Birth of a Nation" reflects and reinforces the racist ideology and values of the Jim Crow era, particularly through its portrayal of Black people as inferior and dangerous, and its glorification of the Ku Klux Klan. She also examines the cultural and political context of the film's release in 1915, including the rise of lynching and the efforts to disenfranchise Black people through Jim Crow laws.

Through her analysis, Wallace shows how "The Birth of a Nation" contributed to the construction of a dominant white identity and a subordinate Black identity in American society. She also argues that the film's success and influence helped to shape the cultural and political discourse of the Jim Crow era, both in terms of the representation of Black people and the justification of racial violence.

Overall, Wallace's essay provides a critical examination of the relationship between "The Birth of a Nation" and the cultural and political context of the Jim Crow era, highlighting the film's role in reinforcing and promoting racist ideologies and values.