Directed by
Moss, Gary, American
Subject of
Bennett, E. Katibo
DeWeese, Martha
Gagrinsky, Barbara
Hunter, Christina
Hunter, Janie
Jackson, Cory
Joyner, Charles, American, 1935 - 2016
McDaniel, Stace
McEvoy, Kelly
McKinney, Kee
McRay, James Bear
Mincey, George
Rainey, Glenn
Rivers, Arthur
Owned by
D.C. Public Library, American, founded 1896
Date
1988
Medium
acetate film
Dimensions
Duration: 20 min.
Physical extent (film): 700 ft
Caption
This film was a part of the Washington D.C. Public Library's circulating 16mm film collection housed at the Martin Luther King Jr. Central Library. The collection is particularly noted for the wide variety of African American and African diaspora content.
Description
A short film with the title Gullah Tales. It consists of a single reel of positive 16mm acetate film with variable-area optical sound.
Set at around 1830, the film opens with a narrator describing the importance of the Sea Islands in the coastal regions of South Carolina and Georgia to African Americans, and the creole language and culture known as Gullah.
In the opening scene, which depicts life on a plantation, a young girl runs around informing other children on the plantation that "Mama Nancy be telling stories." They join other children in a barn sitting at Mama Nancy's feet. A woman enters the room and chastises her children for joining the others before turning to Mama Nancy and saying, "Nancy, I know we'll never discourage you from telling tales, but must you preach lessons of immorality? Goodness knows we have enough trickery and theft on this plantation as it is..." When the woman and her own children exit the building, Mama Nancy, in a distinctly Gullah accent, tells the remaining children a story about an enslaved man, John, who is a "good wrestler" and outwits his enslaver into manumitting him.
Place used
Washington, District of Columbia, United States, Sea Islands, North and Central America
Place depicted
South Carolina, United States, North and Central America
Collection title
DC Public Library Film Collection
Classification
Time-based Media - Moving Images
Type
sound films
color films (visual works)
short subjects
16mm (photographic film size)
Topic
African diaspora
Communities
Emancipation
Film
Folklife
Language
Slavery
U.S. History, 1815-1861
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number
2017.55.4.1a
Restrictions & Rights
Restrictions likely apply. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5472ab22b-5402-4bfe-acc5-0840757d2130

Cataloging is an ongoing process and we may update this record as we conduct additional research and review. If you have more information about this object, please contact us at NMAAHCDigiTeam@si.edu

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