Greenwood Art Project Mini-Documentaries
Published on Juneteenth weekend, this collection of mini-documentaries features Greenwood Art Project artists and filmmakers who explore the meaning of freedom made present in the ongoing work GAP does to heal a city in the wake of the traumatic 1921 Massacre in Tulsa.
Stars, Flags, and Arms Crossed (2020) by Brian EllisonThe Greenwood Art Project
Welcome to Our Juneteenth Celebration
Juneteenth celebrates more than just a delayed message of emancipation given to slaves on June 19,1865. This is a celebration of the timeless right to be human despite the times in which we live. Welcome to our Juneteenth celebration!
The Admiral Drive In (2021-06-04) by Marlon HallThe Greenwood Art Project
The Admiral Twin Screening
On May 26th The Greenwood Art Project welcomed the city of Tulsa out to the Admiral Twin for a time to view project documentaries that would not have had as much exposure due to COVID restrictions and limitations.
Dark Town Strutters Ball (2021-06-04) by David Odiwams WrightThe Greenwood Art Project
Why Share on Juneteenth?
We are sharing these films with the world on Juneteenth because they represent the freedom and inherent humanity that keeps the holiday going.
Admiral Twin Film Screening (2021-06-04) by Marlon HallThe Greenwood Art Project
The Spirit of Juneteenth
There are as many ways to celebrate Juneteenth as there are people who carry the heritage of freedom that comes with the story of being black in America. We choose to share our films and projects as a contribution to the beauty that follows the celebration of emancipation.
American Dream Film (2021-06-04) by David Odiwams WrightThe Greenwood Art Project
Outward and Inward
These films and the Greenwood Art Projects they feature are an outward expression of our inward commitment to the human spirit. A spirit that will always proclaim emancipation despite the social, political, or environmental conditions in which it is placed.
The Emancipation Proclamation, an order issued by President Lincoln in 1862, is remembered by some as a major turning point in American history, putting into effect the freeing of slaves in 1863. It was not only a turning point in our history but also our humanity.
Juneteenth Day takes place on June 19th every year, commemorating the day in 1865 when Union troops led by General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, with General Order Number 3 enforcing freedom for the last remaining slaves in the South.
Some say this event is powerful because it "notified" the last remaining slaves they were free. We believe enslaved men and women didn’t need to be made aware of their freedom as much as they needed the country they built with free labor to advocate for their freedom by military enforcement. This enforcement was essential in the parts of the country where slave owners were resistant to equality and greedy for another season of crops produced by free labor.
Unchained
Bobby Eaton Jr. keeps these chains in his studio as an artifact of his freedom. This chain that held enslaved Africans is an artifact and a reminder of the freedom he longs for his work to be in the world. "This won't happen again". - Bobby Eaton Jr.
The order that General Gordon Granger gave on the shores of Galveston gave Black men and women what was inherently there own. The inherent right to be free as human beings.
Unchained (2020-09-23) by Marlon F. HallThe Greenwood Art Project
Healing Amidst Trauma
100 years later, this film exhibition is a gentle moment of healing amidst the trauma that echoes from the 1921 massacre in Tulsa.
Being Human
The Emancipation Proclamation, an order issued by President Lincoln in 1862, is remembered as a major turning point in American history, putting into effect the freeing of slaves in 1863.
Being Human
Juneteenth isn't just a celebration of a delayed response to the 1862 drafted and 1863 activated Emancipation Proclamation, it is the affirmation of the timeless and inherent value of being human.
Emancipation Proclamation
What the Emancipation Proclamation could not do alone to free slaves held hostage to produce another season of crops in some parts of America, the events around the June 19,1865 event in Galveston, Texas did.
The following is an excerpt from the general order that was mandated on June 19th, 1865.
"The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor...." - Issued in Galveston Texas June 19th 1865 by order of Major General Granger
Thread Blur (2020-07-12) by Marlon F. HallThe Greenwood Art Project
Activated Humanity
It not only liberated slaves from slavery it activated a once enslaved people’s humanity with the following General Order.
The first sentence brings home the point of freeing slaves; "The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free."
Standing in the Need (2020) by Marlon Hall and Brian EllisonThe Greenwood Art Project
On the Shores
On the shores of Galveston Texas June 19th of 1965, General Gordon Granger issued General Order Number Three. This was an order to be enforced by military action. It was more than a way to free slave. It was a way to honor humanity. You can set dogs free and they are still dogs.
The Honoring Prayer (2020) by Marlon Hall and Brian EllisonThe Greenwood Art Project
From Being to Becoming
"...and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor."
-General Order Number 3
Black people moved from being property to becoming property owners.
In theory a people who were owned could then take ownership of their own lives and humanity. The "real-estate" of their humanity was finally addressed by this order and backed by military might.
Century Walk: A Mini-Documentary featuring L. Joi McCondichi
L. Joi McCondichie invites all persons of every background to join with her in A Century Walk: 100 Years, 1921-202.
In the film we discover that McCondichie selected this path because it is the same one her own grandmother once used to flee the destruction of the Tulsa Race Massacre. This community walk retraced the steps, imagining what those hours must have felt like for fathers and mothers, aunties and uncles, boys and girls as they fled from their burning homes and businesses.
Dark Town Strutter's Ball: A Short Film
Theatre North's , Darktown Strutters’ Ball, is a gala with music, dance, and food commemorating the 1921 good times!
Directed by Brandon Wade, Darktown Strutters’ Ball reflects the period leading up to the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre in language, costume, design, setting, music, and dance. It shows an aspect of how we imagine our forbearers lived in the Greenwood District.
American Dream: A Visual Poem with Sarah Ahmad
At the center of her work, Ahmad has constructed a simple canvas tent that she modeled after those that were quickly constructed as an emergency shelter after the 1921 Race Massacre, as well as those that the artist saw while growing up in Lahore, Pakistan.
casting spells with the ancestors by Marlon F. Hall (2021-01-10) by Marlon HallThe Greenwood Art Project
American Dream Tent
At the center of her work, Ahmad has constructed a simple canvas tent that she modeled after those that were quickly constructed as an emergency shelter after the 1921 Race Massacre, as well as those that the artist saw while growing up in Lahore, Pakistan.
Marigolds
Marigolds cover the structure, their fragrance, and color working together in creating a peaceful idyll, albeit one of the symbolic associations.
Black Wall Street: An American Nightmare
It’s 1905, one year before O.W. Gurley would purchase the 40 acres of land that would become known as Black Wall Street.
After a hard day of work, the exhausted Gurley takes a nap and is suddenly transported 115 years into the future to the year 2020. In this nightmare, Gurley sees the struggle his community is facing, and maybe, just maybe, he can change the future from the past.
General order number three not only liberated slaves, it authenticated humanity of the former slaves. It may not have all been for good intention but today we celebrate its impact.
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