NEGRO LIFE IN THE DEEP SOUTH

Genres: amateur film, home movie

Year Published: 1930s

Description: Please note: this historic film contains content and language which may be considered demeaning and/or troubling to viewers. Our intent in publishing it is not to offend, but to add to the historic record, and reveal public perceptions regarding race in another era in American history. This film has been intentionally age restricted. Dating to the 1930s or 40s, this is an elaborate, amateur produced 8mm film that also contains home movie segments. It's unclear who shot it or precisely where, although the beginning of the film (which references "parishes") was probably shot in Louisiana. The film is notable because it contains rare images of Black families and children, although the intentions of the person who filmed them is unclear. The people shown were likely sharecroppers who lived in extreme poverty owing to the stagnant and racist social conditions of the Jim Crow era. (Note: in this era, one of the stereotypical notions was of "happy Blacks" including the "happy dancer" or minstrel, and it doesn't seem uncommon that White tourists would pay or otherwise coerce kids to dance for them on camera.) The film starts with a title scroll that reads: "Negro Life in the Deep South" and continues "Negroes make up 40 percent of the population of the state. Every city has its negro high school while in the rural districts the negro is educated in plantation schools. In seventeen parishes (counties) they are in the majority. In some small towns the percentage is 60% and in a few the entire population is negro. In the southern part they are of the Catholic faith and speak only French." After the title scroll, the film shows an African American or Black boy who is selling fruit to passing cars. He is standing in overalls, carrying what appears to be fresh picked strawberries or other berries (1:24). A girl is shown in a similar pose followed at (1:38) by a shot of the girl and boy, and what appears to be another child, all selling fruit at the side of a road. At (1:51) three children, one of them carrying a schoolbook, pose for the camera. At (1:59) what is probably a mother and daughter dance in a circle behind a barb wire fence. At (2:26) a young boy, wearing ragged clothing, cheerfully dances for the camera. At (2:50) the boy and a girl dance for the camera, with the girl doing a wonderful shimmy at (3:22). At (3:30) a proud mother poses with her family of four in front of their shack. At (3:58) a girl eats a piece of sugar cane (?). At (4:38) the mother poses awkwardly for the camera. At (4:49), Black teens or young male buskers dance in front of a white audience on a street corner. At (5:01) a well dressed Black woman accompanies another who is carrying a parcel on her head, and they walk down a road. At (5:15) a chain gang or work party of Black convicts are seen performing supervised work, with two Ford trucks for transport. At (5:28) a sharecroppers' cabin is shown. At (5:45) a Black woman poses with her kids outside her shack, she holds a baby in her arms. At (6:19) the film switches venues to Port Arthur, Texas, starting with shots of the South's tallest bridge. At (7:24), a group of whites (probably including the filmmaker) are shown after the title card "Deep Sea Fishing at Port Arthur" while at (8:26) a crew member naps. At (8:42) the tourists eat watermelon at a roadside stand. At (9:14) some of the vast oil refineries at Port Arthur are shown and at (9:44) the Intercoastal Canal is shown as well as the Gulf of Mexico (10:10). At (10:45) are brief shots of Galveston, including rundown shanties or shacks at (10:56). The film continues with shots of rusting oil tankers and merchant vessels, as well as the Galveston fishing fleet (11:40).

Complete Record: Please note: this historic film contains content and language which may be considered demeaning and/or troubling to viewers. Our intent in publishing it is not to offend, but to add to the historic record, and reveal public perceptions regarding race in another era in American history. This film has been intentionally age restricted. Dating to the 1930s or 40s, this is an elaborate, amateur produced 8mm film that also contains home movie segments. It's unclear who shot it or precisely where, although the beginning of the film (which references "parishes") was probably shot in Louisiana. The film is notable because it contains rare images of Black families and children, although the intentions of the person who filmed them is unclear. The people shown were likely sharecroppers who lived in extreme poverty owing to the stagnant and racist social conditions of the Jim Crow era. (Note: in this era, one of the stereotypical notions was of "happy Blacks" including the "happy dancer" or minstrel, and it doesn't seem uncommon that White tourists would pay or otherwise coerce kids to dance for them on camera.) The film starts with a title scroll that reads: "Negro Life in the Deep South" and continues "Negroes make up 40 percent of the population of the state. Every city has its negro high school while in the rural districts the negro is educated in plantation schools. In seventeen parishes (counties) they are in the majority. In some small towns the percentage is 60% and in a few the entire population is negro. In the southern part they are of the Catholic faith and speak only French." After the title scroll, the film shows an African American or Black boy who is selling fruit to passing cars. He is standing in overalls, carrying what appears to be fresh picked strawberries or other berries (1:24). A girl is shown in a similar pose followed at (1:38) by a shot of the girl and boy, and what appears to be another child, all selling fruit at the side of a road. At (1:51) three children, one of them carrying a schoolbook, pose for the camera. At (1:59) what is probably a mother and daughter dance in a circle behind a barb wire fence. At (2:26) a young boy, wearing ragged clothing, cheerfully dances for the camera. At (2:50) the boy and a girl dance for the camera, with the girl doing a wonderful shimmy at (3:22). At (3:30) a proud mother poses with her family of four in front of their shack. At (3:58) a girl eats a piece of sugar cane (?). At (4:38) the mother poses awkwardly for the camera. At (4:49), Black teens or young male buskers dance in front of a white audience on a street corner. At (5:01) a well dressed Black woman accompanies another who is carrying a parcel on her head, and they walk down a road. At (5:15) a chain gang or work party of Black convicts are seen performing supervised work, with two Ford trucks for transport. At (5:28) a sharecroppers' cabin is shown. At (5:45) a Black woman poses with her kids outside her shack, she holds a baby in her arms. At (6:19) the film switches venues to Port Arthur, Texas, starting with shots of the South's tallest bridge. At (7:24), a group of whites (probably including the filmmaker) are shown after the title card "Deep Sea Fishing at Port Arthur" while at (8:26) a crew member naps. At (8:42) the tourists eat watermelon at a roadside stand. At (9:14) some of the vast oil refineries at Port Arthur are shown and at (9:44) the Intercoastal Canal is shown as well as the Gulf of Mexico (10:10). At (10:45) are brief shots of Galveston, including rundown shanties or shacks at (10:56). The film continues with shots of rusting oil tankers and merchant vessels, as well as the Galveston fishing fleet (11:40).