<P> The Hollywood blacklist - as the broader entertainment industry blacklist is generally known - was the practice of denying employment to screenwriters, actors, directors, musicians, and other American entertainment professionals during the mid-20th century because they were accused of having Communist ties or sympathies . Artists were barred from work on the basis of their alleged membership in or sympathy with the Communist Party USA, or their refusal to assist investigations into the party's activities . Even during the period of its strictest enforcement, from the late 1940s through to the late 1950s, the blacklist was rarely made explicit or verifiable, but it directly damaged the careers of scores of individuals working in the film industry . </P> <P> The first systematic Hollywood blacklist was instituted on November 25, 1947, the day after ten writers and directors were cited for contempt of Congress for refusing to testify to the House Un-American Activities Committee . A group of studio executives, acting under the aegis of the Association of Motion Picture Producers, fired the artists - the so - called Hollywood Ten - and made what has become known as the Waldorf Statement . </P>

Hollywood remained the one voice of protest during the red scare