Film footage of a NAACP protest rally in Brooklyn, New York
date: label: Date
content: May 26, 1959
name: label: Created by
content: Unidentified
label: Subject of
content: Norman Malachy, American
label: Subject of
content: R. Jess Brown, American, 1913 - 1990
label: Subject of
content: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, American, founded 1909
label: Subject of
content: Al Garrett, American, died 1959
label: Subject of
content: Mack Charles Parker, American, 1936 - 1959
label: Owned by
content: Pearl Bowser, American, 1931 - 2023
notes: label: Caption
content: This 16mm silent, black and white film features footage from a NAACP protest rally at the Siloam Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn. The main speaker is Norman Malachy, and he recalls the events surrounding the Mack Charles Parker lynching that happened on April 25, 1959, near Poplarville, Mississippi. Mack Charles Parker was kidnapped while he was in jail on charges that he raped a white woman on February 24, 1959.
label: Description
content: Film footage of a NAACP protest rally. It consists of a single reel of 16mm black-and-white acetate film with optical sound (a). It was shot at the Siloam Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn. The main speaker is Norman Malachy, and he recalls the events surrounding the Mack Charles Parker lynching that happened on April 25, 1959, near Poplarville, Mississippi. Mack Charles Parker was kidnapped while he was in jail on charges that he raped a white woman on February 24, 1959. When Malachy finishes speaking, R. Jess Brown asks him follow up questions at the podium. Brown appears later in the film and speaks about the murder of Al Garrett by a police officer in the Gates Ave. Police Station in Brooklyn on April 17, 1959. An unidentified minister also briefly speaks at the podium.
label: Description
content: The film begins with Malachy recounting the police questioning him about the events on the night of February 24, 1959, when he was riding in the same car as Parker. He recalls this story for over six minutes, and then Brown approaches the podium and asks Malachy some direct questions about how long Malachy knew Parker, as well as some follow up questions about answers he provided to the police. This exchange goes on for about 2 minutes. For most of the final minute, Brown talks about the murder of Al Garrett. While there is sound for much of the film, there are some moments when there is no sound, and other moments when the film cuts in and out abruptly. A minister begins to introduce a speaker following the exchange between Malachy and Brown. The film jumps ahead to Brown approaching the podium to speak about Al Garrett. The film cuts out while Brown is speaking.
place: label: Place filmed
content: Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Civil Rights
label: Topic
content: Justice
label: Topic
content: Lynching
label: Topic
content: Presbyterian
label: Topic
content: U.S. History, 1953-1961
label: Topic
content: Violence
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Collection title
content: Pearl Bowser Collection
label: Classification
content: Time-based Media - Moving Images
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Pearl Bowser
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2012.79.1.103.1a
objectType: label: Type
content: sound films
label: Type
content: black-and-white films (visual works)
label: Type
content: 16mm (photographic film size)
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Unknown - Restrictions Possible
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: acetate film
label: Dimensions
content: Physical extent (film): 400 ft
label: Dimensions
content: Duration: 11 min.