Archival News

Abstract

Archival News Yalie Kamara Archives Center, National Museum of American History at Smithsonian Institution This note is an edited version of a blog post originally published on the Smithsonian National Museum of American History website by Wendy Shay with contributions by Patricia Sanders. Click for larger view View full resolution Figure 1. Photograph of the Reverend Harold Mose Anderson. Courtesy of Patricia Sanders. The Reverend Harold Mose Anderson who had always been fascinated by the movies, saved his money and bought a home movie camera. Once he had it, he was seldom without it as he wandered the streets of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Much like a seasoned reporter, wherever he went, he always took time to load up the camera and check his film and equipment. The resulting motion picture, Reverend Harold Anderson's Black Wall Street Film, captured [End Page 350] from 1948 through 1952, has been preserved and made available for use by the National Museum of American History's Archives Center. Anderson's community was Greenwood, a neighborhood of particular cultural relevance in Tulsa, which is featured in the Power of Place exhibition of the new National Museum of African American History and Culture. Often referred to as "Little Africa" in the early years of the 20th century, it later became popularly known as "Black Wall Street." During a time in which segregation limited African-American housing options and prevented black customers from patronizing businesses that catered to white customers only, it had one of the largest concentrations of black-owned businesses in the country. Black Wall Street was a vibrant African American neighborhood with a thriving middle class and well-established institutions including schools, churches, and civic associations. In spite of its thriving nature, in 1921 Black Wall Street was the scene of a massive race riot during which hundreds of African American residents were killed and the neighborhood was burned to the ground. Born in 1922, Harold Anderson grew up hearing the stories and watching the neighborhood's rebirth. In addition to being a witness to the rebuilding and revival of the community, he was also a participant in it. As such, he documented the neighborhood's renewal with his 16mm motion picture camera. Click for larger view View full resolution Figure 2. Anderson's camera captured moments large and small within Tulsa's African American community. In this scene from the film, a young couple poses together while standing in front of the local movie theater. Anderson himself played a major role in the neighborhood's resurgence. A successful businessman, Anderson managed and then owned two [End Page 351] neighborhood movie theaters, a skating rink, a bowling alley, and a shopping strip, among other enterprises. He also brought the Golden Gloves boxing tournament to the area, making it accessible to African American fans. Anderson found it critical that Black Wall Street sustain independent African American businesses to ensure resident dollars would stay in the community and guarantee its future. Almost lost in a devastating house fire, Anderson's film recognizes the efforts and successes of the community. His film footage showed that by the 1940s Black Wall Street once again was home to active African American-owned businesses. He made a special effort to document the neighborhood's barbershops, groceries, taxi companies, jewelers, and other enterprises. He also captured its citizens in church, at school, participating in parades, and on the streets of the area. The film includes footage of Richard and Pat Nixon as they campaigned in Black Wall Street, which was the first time a vice presidential candidate visited the African American neighborhood. As a historic document the film provides a record of a significant time and place in African American history. It allows the viewer to feel the vibrancy of a community that triumphed over tragedy. For more information, visit americanhistory.si.edu/blog/black-wall-street. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy Film Archive has recently restored Cauleen Smith's 16mm short film Chronicles of a Lying Spirit (by Kelly Gabron) (1992). The archive, which holds the Cauleen Smith Collection, also recently made new prints of Smith's debut feature, drylongso (1998). Black Film Center/Archive at Indiana...