In the summer of 2014, the Texas Archive of the Moving Image (TAMI) went to Amarillo to collect Texas-related films and videos from the Panhandle community for our free digitization program. One donor, Joe Jeoffrey, brought in a large collection of 16 millimeter family films from the 1960s. While we are always excited by 16mm film, which produces a sharp, dynamic image, we were especially enthusiastic to receive this collection after Jeoffrey disclosed that one reel might contain his father's footage of the Selma march. We eagerly went straight to work digitizing the collection upon our return to Austin!
Never seen before 16 mm color footage from the third Selma march in 1965 uncovered in Amarillo, Texas.
TAMI found remarkable color footage that we determined is the third march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama on March 21, 1965. In the stunning footage, protesters gather outside the Brown Chapel while law enforcement vehicles and personnel line the surrounding streets. After the marchers depart, others congregate outside of the church, which also served as the headquarters for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization co-founded by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. While this event has been recently re-examined through its cinematic depiction in the Oscar-nominated movie Selma, this home movie offers a firsthand look at the ground operations of the movement, providing a glimpse of what it was like to be there, on the street, without bias or dramatization. Watch it here: http://texasarchive.org/library/index.php/2014_03715.
“This footage speaks to the important work we do at the Texas Archive of the Moving Image preserving home movies from around the state,” said Madeline Moya, TAMI’s Managing Director. “Unlike government film, news broadcasts, or other records created by institutions with authority, home movies present our history from the citizen's perspective. Just as we can hear regional accents and see local celebrations or family traditions in home movies, we can also observe historic events from the eyes of those who were there without an agenda. This footage exemplifies home movies' significance as historical cultural records.”
The Texas Archive of the Moving Image, a non-profit organization, discovers, preserves, makes accessible, and serves community interest in Texas film heritage. By partnering with institutions and individuals across the state, TAMI digitizes and provides web access to thousands of moving images that offer insight to Texas history and culture. Over two thousand of these films are available to view on the TAMI website, www.texasarchive.org.