Rev. S.S. Jones Home Movies: Reel 9

Rev. Solomon Sir Jones was a Baptist minister, businessman, and amateur filmmaker. This collection of home movies by Jones documents African American communities in Oklahoma between 1924 and 1928, depicting residents at work and in their homes, as well as activities at local schools, businesses, and churches. Community social events such as parades and funerals are prominently featured.

A home movie featuring footage taken in Oklahoma during the middle and late 1920s by Solomon Sir Jones. It is the ninth in a collection of nine films and consists of a single reel of silent 16mm black-and-white acetate film.

The film begins with brief footage of men walking beside a passenger train. The next scene shows men coming out of a house and carrying a casket. Two men stand at the bottom of the stairs with poles lifted in the air and crossing. There is a funeral procession with a band playing instruments on the way to the church. The band is followed by the hearse and a long line of cars. People line the street as the procession passes by. The camera shows the interior of the church, and then shows women carrying flowers out of the church followed by other funeral attendees and the pallbearers carrying the casket. There is another procession to the cemetery. The footage shows the graveside service and the casket being lowered into the ground. The next scene shows men standing outside of a storefront talking and laughing. They cross the street. The next scene shows a hearse drive by and a funeral procession. The funeral procession proceeds down a street with people and cars. There are also horses pulling carriages and wagons with people in them.