Solomon Sir Jones (1869-1936)

Solomon Sir Jones, Baptist minister, businessman, and amateur filmmaker. Jones was born in Tennessee to parents who had once been enslaved. He grew up in the South before moving to Oklahoma in 1889. Jones became an influential Baptist minister, building and pastoring fifteen churches. He was head of the Boyd Faction of Negro Baptists in America and was a successful businessman.

Description of the Papers

The Solomon Sir Jones films consist of 29 silent black and white films documenting African-American communities in Oklahoma from 1924 to 1928. The films measure 12,800 feet (355 min). All films are B-wind positive prints, except one roll that contains approximately 150 feet of orange base B-wind positive.

Jones filmed Oklahoma residents in their homes; during their social, school and church activities; in the businesses they owned; and performing various jobs. The films document several Oklahoma communities, including Muskogee, Okmulgee, Tulsa, Wewoka, Bristow and Taft. The films also document Jones’s trips to Indiana, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois, New York City, South Carolina, Colorado, and overseas to France, England, Palestine, Switzerland, Italy, Northern Africa, and Germany. Slates between scenes identify locations, dates, and subjects.

Jones frequently filmed at various locations by positioning himself outside a building while people exited the building in a line. This perspective provides footage of people as they walk by the camera, usually looking directly at it. Footage of churches includes congregants exiting the service and socializing outside; footage of schools often includes students playing outside or doing exercises; and footage of people at their home includes them outside on their porches or in their yards. Aside from church and scheduled school activities, people presumably exited at Jones’s request for the purpose of being filmed by him.

2022 OKC Thunder Story on SSJ Films

2021 Martin Johnson on the Solomon Sir Jones Films

Solomon Sir Jones films, 1924-1928

Start a film by clicking the caption title or the still image in the viewer. When a film begins to play, a “chapter list” consisting of Reverend Jones’s slate titles will appear to the right of the viewer. The list includes the time at which chapters begin. If you slide your cursor over the image a control panel appears which will allow you to advance the film to any chapter.

	Film 1 (1925, undated) Churches, schools, and other locations in Clearview, OK; Muskogee, OK; Guthrie, OK; Langston, OK; and Bristow, OK.
	Film 2 (1927, undated) Residences, workplaces, and recreational activities in Muskogee, OK; Bristow, OK; Sapulpa, OK; Tulsa, OK; Hugo, OK; and Holdenville, OK.
	Film 3 (1926, undated) Churches, offices, a winter scene, a theater, and a residence in Indianapolis, IN, and Muskogee, OK.
	Film 4 (1926-1927, undated) Churches, residences, an undertaker, and unidentified locations mainly in Indianapolis, IN; Denison, TX; New Orleans, LA; Nashville, TN; and Memphis, TN.
	Film 5 (1925-1926, undated) Turkey Day, football game, symphony, hair salons and other locations in Okmulgee, OK; Muskogee, OK; near Little Rock, AR; St Louis, MO; and England, AK.
	Film 6 (1926, undated) Schools, train scene, auto collision, stores, and boy prisoners in Muskogee, OK; Harlinville, OK; Depew, OK; and McAlister, OK.
	Film 7 (undated) Ships, ship travel, and royal locations in London and Liverpool, England; well-known and typical sights in Paris, Versailles, and Marseilles, France.
	Film 8 (1925, 1927, undated) Schools, churches, market, and stockholder meeting in Memphis, TN; Duncan, OK; Okemah, OK; and Boley, OK.
	Film 9 (1925-1926, undated) Residences, churches, funeral march, school children in Muskogee, OK; Taft, OK; and Okmulgee, OK.
	Film 10 (1925) Ministers and various other people in Nashville, TN; Beaumont,TX;
	Film 11 (1925, undated) Residences, offices, funeral homes, and Native Americans in Muskogee, OK.
	Film 12 (undated) Christian holy sites in Jerusalem and Galilee, Israel.
	Film 13 (1925, undated) Well-known locations in New York City. Clergy and others in Chicago; Muskogee, OK; and Bristow, OK.
	Film 14 (undated) Various scenes in Switzerland, Italy, Egypt, and Israel.
	Film 15 (1926, undated) Schools in Haskell, OK; Coweta, OK; Gibson Station, OK; Checotah, OK; and Boynton, OK.
	Film 16 (1925-1927, undated) Residences, clergy, and other locations in Clearview, OK; Okmulgee, OK; Muskogee, OK; Wetumka, OK; Okmulgee, OK; Wewoka, OK; Holdenville, OK; Shawnee, OK;
	Film 17 (1926-1927, undated) Boarding house, schools, spelling bee and other activities in Langston, OK; Chandler, OK; Muskogee, OK; Oklahoma City, OK; and adventure series.
	Film 18 (1925-1926, undated) Adventure series; churches, businesses and schools in Okmulgee, OK; Tulsa, OK; Muskogee, OK.
	Film 19 (1925, undated) National Baptist Convention in Kansas City, MO; streets in Chicago, IL; backwaters in Madison, IA.
	Film 20 (1925) Schools, businesses and other locations in Kansas City, MO; Boley, OK; Tulsa, OK; Taft, OK; Muskogee, OK.
	Film 21 (1925, undated) Residences markets, schools and other locations in Okmulgee, OK.
	Film 22 (1926, undated) Stores, residences, churches and other locations in Muskogee, OK, and Tullahassee, OK
	Film 23 (1927, undated) Stores, schools, churches and other locations in Wellston, OK; Okmulgee, OK; Sapulpa, OK; Drumright, OK; El Reno, OK; and Oklahoma City, OK.
	Film 24 (1926-1928, undated) Schools, residences, stores and other locations in Lawton, OK; Wetumka, OK; Muskogee, OK; Ardmore, OK; East Ardmore, OK; Cushing, OK; Lima, OK; St. Louis MO;
	Film 25 (1926-1927, undated) Residences, tombs, and other locations in Eufaula, OK, and unidentified locations.
	Film 26 (1926, 1928, undated) Juneteenth Celebration, farms, residences, football games and various people in Wybark, OK; Porter, OK; Muskogee, OK; Langston, OK; and Okay, OK.
	Film 27 (1928, undated) Funerals and funeral homes, residence, fair, and Baptist convention at Okmulgee, OK: Tulsa, OK; Gibson Station, OK; and Muskogee, OK.
	Film 28 (1928, undated) Baptists, cars and trucks on a train, footrace and other activities in Tulsa OK; Ransom, IN; Coweta, OK; Wybark, OK; and unidentified locations.
	Film 29 (1927, undated) Baptist convention, funeral home, and assorted locations in Denver, CO; Tulsa, OK; Muskogee, OK; and unidentified locations.