Film footage of a Harlem Trade Union Council convention: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A 16mm, black-and-white, silent film showing part of a Harlem Trade Union Council (HTUC) convention held on April 2, 1949. The footage includes shots of the speakers on stage as well as the audience. The second to last speaker appears to be Ferdinand Smith, chairman of the HTUC. There are a variety of camera angles that capture the stage from the audience floor, close-ups of audience members, and different shots of the speakers on stage.

The film opens with a shot of the stage, where a woman is addressing the audience. A large sign reading "Welcome delegates to HTUC convention \ Build a fighting mass organization of negro workers" hangs above the speaker. The camera angle/view then shifts from the front of the stage to a position just behind the left side of the speakers, showing the audience seated in about 12 horizontal rows extending from the stage to the back of the room. The audience consists of men and women in business attire. The camera alternates with close-up shots of the audience and the speakers. Some of the audience members stand to address the speakers, and then the camera returns to a shot of the stage with a man reading from papers in his hand. A woman seated at a table on the stage listens.

Another speaker comes to the microphone as the audience stands and claps. The camera returns to a view of the stage, and the woman previously seated at the table in the earlier scene introduces the next speaker. After the speaker finishes, the film continues with a view from the back of the room showing the audience watching a film on a screen. The audience claps, and the woman on stage returns to the microphone. The final two scenes show two speakers, one of which appears to be Ferdinand C. Smith.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: April 2, 1949
• Created by: Harlem Trade Union Council, American, 1949 - 1955
• Subject of: Harlem Trade Union Council, American, 1949 - 1955
• Subject of: Ferdinand Christopher Smith, Jamaican, 1893 - 1961
• Owned by: Pearl Bowser, American, 1931 - 2023
• Type: silent films
• Type: home movies
• Type: black-and-white films (visual works)
• Type: 16mm (photographic film size)
• Medium: acetate film
• Dimensions: Physical extent (film): 300 ft
• Dimensions: Duration: 5 min.
• Place filmed: Harlem, New York City, New York County, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Associations and institutions
• Topic: Labor
• Topic: Professional organizations
• Topic: U.S. History, 1945-1953
• Object number: 2012.79.1.53.1a
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Pearl Bowser
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: No Known Copyright Restrictions Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.