TULSA, Okla. — Solomon Sir Jones was born in Tennessee to former slaves and later moved to Oklahoma in 1889.
He is responsible for 29 silent black and white films documenting African-American communities from 1924 until 1928. Jones used his lens to capture the everyday life of Oklahoma residents in their homes, taking part in social events and doing their jobs.
The silent films paint a beautiful picture of life in the 1920s.
The Yale Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscripts Library bought the films in 2009, and then made a careful preservation effort with the Smithsonian to make sure the films will be around for generations to come.
Kolby Webster with OKPOP Museumsaid it's remarkable these films still exist for viewing today.
"Actually, 70% of all America's silent films don't exist anymore today. They didn't make it through an extensive preservation process or, you know, being highly flammable. They just didn't make it,” said Webster.
Webster said Jones’ films truly capture Black life post-emancipation in the fumbling of the country’s reconstruction era.
“His films actually start after the massacre, but even to that point, despite the complete flattening of the Greenwood community after the massacre, it was actually bigger and better than it was pre. He's really documenting some of the ultimate highs of the Greenwood community and the Black Wall Street community."
Webster said the research and exhibit teams at OKPOP will incorporate some of Jones’ work at the museum for everyone to enjoy.
“Here at OKPOP, we're really interested in being able to create engagement around these films and really show how lively and colorful, despite being a black and white, you know black communities were at the time,” says Webster.
To view the entire collection of Solomon Sir Jones films, they can be accessed through the Yale University Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscripts Library.
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