59th Street Stories: Ways of the Folk
I collect historic film footage of Arfrican-American people from home movies to early documentaries, and take a lot of documentary footage of my own. Early reel to reel and Super-8 film is often cast off as families and other repositories struggle to care for these important early documents of African-American life.
Sweeping: Elder Kane’s Yard
Swept yards are a tradition among Southern Black rural folks, and it is a practice that links us to West African yard sweeping activities. Grasses are selected for their strength and then bound together to form one broom. The swept surface could then be read to determine the comings and goings of friend or foe, as well as the imprints left behind by animals and snakes that may be close by. Several weeks ago, I shot this footage of Elder Kane, a woman who lives near Miles College in Fairfield, Alabama, who was sweeping her yard.
May Day Celebration 1950s – Negro Schools – Shelby County Alabama
May Day celebration offers us a rare glimpse at a moment of history. During the 1950’s segregation era, school children were mandated by Alabama law to attend public schools which were segregated by race. This archival footage features children gathered together from various black schools throughout Shelby County, Alabama, for a day of pageantry including dancing around the maypole, track meets, beauty contests, and marching with school banners.
Photomural
The photomural was printed from a pinhole camera negative, which is how all pinhole camera photographs begin. The Temple of Hope is a street corner church like those found in African American communities across America.
