Summary

BLACK WALL STREET

Source Archive Films by Getty Images
Title: BLACK WALL STREET
File Number: BWS-1 Beta SP; DigiBeta
Color: B W, Color
Type: Home Movie
Year: 1940s - 1950s
Description: B W 1940s - 1950s Home movies taken in the prosperous, all-black African- American Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma (site of the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot, the most violent riot in American history) in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Good, rare footage of a self-contained, black middle- class community, with particular attention paid to black-owned and operated businesses note that all of the footage is of black people, so "black" has been omitted from shot descriptions. Also features good footage at the end of Nixon and Eisenhower making campaign stops. 01:00:26:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Church services of an all-black congregation: VS the well-dressed parishioners standing and sitting in the pews of the small church VS the robe-clad members of the church choir, singing. 01:01:35:00 B W 1940s - 1950s VS INT of the all-black "Four-Star Barber Shop": barber cutting hair of customer, people waiting for service in their seats, etc. 01:02:00:00 B W 1940s - 1950s VS a high school parade: drum majorettes, marching band, male and female cheerleaders, dressed-up girls on a float passing cars full of teenagers smiling at CAM. 01:03:43:00 Color 1940s - 1950s "McGowan Variety Shop": VS the storefront EXT, Christmas window display and toys on the INT shelves. 01:05:37:00 Color 1940s - 1950s "Neal Jewelry Co": VS EXT storefront sign and window display, man on sidewalk in front of store. 01:06:11:00 Color 1940s - 1950s A barber shop: VS barber combing and cutting hair of customer men. 01:06:29:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Storefront sign inscribed "Madison Bag Company" EXT the small factory building truck driver gets into cab of his truck and drives away with reams of canvas burlap bag sacks in the back of truck worker men with pieces of material for bags seamstress women work at sewing machines, making bags sacks. 01:07:46:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Storefront sign inscribed "Martin's Beauty Nook" beauty salon hairdresser woman giving woman customer a hairdo. 01:07:58:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Storefront sign inscribed "Givens Grocery and Market" VS people inside the store various food items on the shelves of the store woman selecting items from refrigerator shelf and cigar rack butcher cutting meat. 01:09:23:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Children playfully pose for CAM on residential street. 01:09:31:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Storefront sign inscribed "Carroll Grocery" VS products on shelves, shopkeeper and customers shopping inside the small store. 01:10:20:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Plumber man and assistants in office. 01:10:35:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Storefront sign inscribed "Brown's Grocery Market" well-dressed dandy man inside the store. 01:10:51:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Woman on the telephone. 01:10:58:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Welder man on telephone in workshop welder using torch. 01:11:08:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Storefront sign inscribed "Edward's Refrigeration and Air Conditioning" 01:11:22:00 B W 1940s - 1950s VS man poses for CAM next to his car which is emblazoned "Howard the Plumber." 01:11:43:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Cab driver standing next to and getting into his taxicab. 01:43:58:00 B W 1940s - 1950s VS smiling dry cleaner man operates dry cleaning press and shines a customer's shoes. 01:12:19:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Storefront sign inscribed "Ideal Barber Shop" VS barber brushing hair of customer, giving him a haircut. 01:12:42:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Storefront sign inscribed "Hubble Tailor" VS tailor man operating dry cleaning press and sewing clothes. 01:13:05:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Storefront sign inscribed "Fopson Paint and Wallpaper." 01:13:08:00 B W 1940s - 1950s CU sign inscribed "Jackson Ambulance" man and woman sitting at office desks hearse car pulling away from kerb EMTs drivers get into parked ambulance. 01:14:04:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Storefront sign inscribed "Latimer's One-Stop-Shop" and other signs advertising meats and food prices VS men cooking food in kitchen and waitress woman serving food at restaurant diner counter. 01:14:43:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Storefront sign inscribed "Jones North Tulsa Appliance" VS store INT, many refrigerators, washing machines and ovens on display secretary worker woman on the telephone. 01:15:45:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Storefront sign inscribed "Shaw Brothers Unique Barber Shop" barbers giving haircuts to customers. 01:15:58:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Storefront sign inscribed "Mann Brothers Grocery and Market" delivery man leaves store with a basket full of food items VS store owner man and secretary woman in office VS man stocking the store shelves VS the deli counter, shoppers in store, food-laden store shelves, etc. 01:17:53:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Storefront sign inscribed "Dixie Cleaners" customer picking up his dry cleaning and paying cashier man man operates dry cleaning press and brushes off freshly pressed clothes. 01:18:27:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Storefront sign inscribed "Peoples Drug" pharmacist operates soda fountain at the drug store counter VS the medicine-filled shelves, candy on display, other items for sale. 01:19:12:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Storefront sign inscribed "Pat and Son" the two men pose in front of their shop building. 01:19:29:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Storefront signs inscribed "New Area Food and Sundry Store," "cosmetics school supplies shoppers remove food from refrigerator case store counter clerks at work. 01:20:11:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Storefront sign inscribed "Mabrie's Garage" VS the crew of automotive mechanics, one mechanic sands hood of car. 01:20:38:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Storefront sign inscribed "Daniel's Grocery," owner man poses for CAM outside of store. 01:20:45:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Automotive mecahnics at work in garage with protective visors oxy-acetylene torches. 01:21:02:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Sign inscribed "McCormick Grocery and Market" VS man behind deli counter slicing cold cuts, shoppers in store, cashier woman. 01:21:49:00 B W 1940s - 1950s ??? Series of men make speech from stage podium men on the stage singing together. 01:22:26:00 B W 1940s - 1950s VS well-dressed people eating dinner at tables of restaurant or convention hall. 01:23:09:00 B W 1940s - 1950s VS women model modest clothing outfits for small crowd in fashion show. 01:24:16:00 B W 1940s - 1950s VS very well-dressed teenagers hanging out after school or during recess, excellent sequence: smiling staring at CAM girls playing "ring-around-the-rosie" or some such game boys happily rough-housing play-fighting PAN VS large group of the young people posing together for CAM, smiling. 01:26:20:00 B W 1940s - 1950s VS group of smiling, well-dressed teenagers (and a few adults) leaving movie theater (posters in BG advertise the 1947 film "Mr District Attorney") together and hanging around outside the marquee after an afternoon matinee. 01:27:26:00 B W 1940s - 1950s VS people and teenagers walking leisurely down street sidewalk, smiling at CAM, people sitting on bench on sidewalk, people standing around a graduate wearing cap- and-gown, teenagers hanging out on sidewalk, etc. 01:28:23:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Chef man standing on sidewlak outside of his reataurant, he points to the storefront sign inscribed "Art's Fine Chili." 01:28:53:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Storefront sign inscribed "Real estate, Loans, Insurance, Oil Property" VS man and woman in the office also a storefront sign inscribed "Thompson Real Estate, Loans, Insurance." 01:29:47:00 B W 1940s - 1950s VS man parking his car in driveway next to house on resdiential street, getting out of car and entering home man getting into his car. 01:30:02:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Group of well-dressed men (church functionaries? men's lodge members?) wearing white gloves and apron-like garments at their waists leaving building together through backdoor. 01:30:30:00 B W 1940s - 1950s VS different couples and families posing for CAM as they pass through a doorway. 01:33:30:00 B W 1940s - 1950s CU front page of "Oklahoma Eagle newspaper storefront sign inscribed The Oklahoma Eagle." 01:33:48:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Ballroom dancehall marquee sign inscribed "Dreamland." 01:33:59:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Storefront sign inscribed "Williams Drugstore" VS pharmacist gives package to customer at counter and rings up sale on cash register VS soda fountain and drugstore lunch counter. 01:34:48:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Storefront sign inscribed "Harris Prescriptions Laboratory" (drugstore) VS chemist pharmacist man wearing white lab coat preparing medicines, surrounded by shelves laden with bottles and vials. 01:35:40:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Storefront sign inscribed "TC's Scientific Barber" VS barber giving customer a haircut shave. 01:36:04:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Storefront sign inscribed "Holman Jewelry" VS jeweler at work, looking through a jeweler's glass display cases filled with jewelry. 01:36:51:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Shoemaker at work. 01:37:00:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Plumber man wearing overalls gets out of his truck whose side is emblazoned "Boone's Plumbing and Heating, opens up the backdoor of truck. 01:37:14:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Office door inscribed "Doctor William B Perry" VS doctor in his office examines little boy during a check-up. 01:37:48:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Storefront sign inscribed "Manhattan Hatters" VS man and woman at work making hats inside the millinery, surrounded by hats for sale on shelves. 01:38:23:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Storefront sign inscribed "McDaniels Upholstery and Furniture Repair" VS woman sewing and man hammering in the workshop man getting into the company truck. 01:39:07:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Storefront sign inscribed "North End Barber Shop" barber giving men haircuts VS hairdresser woman doing the hair of various women in beauty salon, also shots of women sitting and waiting for their appointments. 01:39:55:00 B W 1940s - 1950s VS people standing around on sidewalk, smiling at CAM. 01:40:09:00 B W 1940s - 1950s Storefront sign inscribed "Gibbs Fish and Poultry" VS butcher cutting pieces of chicken for customer women live chickens inside small cages. 01:41:17:00 B W 1940s - 1950s A YMCA youth center building under construction. 01:41:39:00 B W 1951 - 1952 Police motorcade driving down the main street of town VS Richard Nixon stands up in convertible car and makes speech to the mostly black crowd gathered around in the street, his wife Pat Nixon listens and smiles Nixon shakes hands with a few onlookers the motorcade drives away, out of town. Probably during the Presidential campaign of 1951 1952. 01:43:42:00 B W 1940s - 1950s VS of several boxing matches, involving both black and white boxers. No knock-downs. 01:47:24:00 B W 1940s - 1950s VS EXT of a large theater assembly hall building whose roof has fallen in, possibly after a fire the marquee is emblazoned "Coliseum." 01:47:55:00 B W 1951 - 1952 VS Ike Eisenhower approaches podium in assembly hall to cheers of a crowd (all white people) and makes a speech. Probably during Presidential campaign of 1951 1952. 01:49:10:00 B W 1951 Billboard over movie theater marquee advertising the 1951 racial tension drama "The Well."
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