The Reverend Solomon Sir Jones was a successful Baptist minister and early documentary filmmaker in Oklahoma during the 1920s. He was a defender of the movement for all-Black Oklahoma towns that would be built and governed by Black inhabitants. Starting in 1924, Jones recorded life in the towns of Taft, Clearview, Melvin, and Boley with the then-new 16mm film equipment. The surviving footage preserves images of daily life — worship, sporting events, schools, parades, Masonic meetings, picnics, funerals and Juneteenth celebrations. Jones’ 29 reels of silent black-and-white celluloid are now considered the definitive film record of the Great Migration of the 1920s. (60 min.)   

This program is a compilation of unedited footage from the films of Solomon Sir Jones, presented with a live musical score by Alvin Waddles (piano), Marion Hayden (upright bass) and Leslie Deshazor (viola).  

This program is part of a companion series of film and music events presented in celebration of “Regeneration: Black Cinema, 1898–1971,” on view at the Detroit Institute of Arts Feb. 4–June 23. “Regeneration” is organized by the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.   

This screening is free with DIA general admission, which is free for residents of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.