In 2024, Robert C. Johnson III, a WashU alum and faculty member of the Black Studies Program, donated his collection of twenty-two 8mm film reels to the Julian Edison Department of Special Collections. These films, recorded by Johnson, document student events and travel footage from 1970 to 1972, revealing a glimpse into the lives of students from over fifty years ago. They also showcase parts of WashU campus which no longer exist, including the Wohl Center.

The immediate challenge of describing amateur recordings is identifying the details of what the films capture. Collecting information about the films for the collection’s finding aid was a collaborative effort between former African and African American Studies Librarian Rudolph Clay, University Archivist Sonya Rooney, and myself. Summer intern students Añia Jacob and Mc Ramirez Gomez also contributed descriptions and notes about the films.

Cataloging the films revealed many clearly visible individuals interacting with the camera and each other. Given the documentation of WashU campus and Johnson’s travel in addition to his notes, the collection had significant cultural and historical value, and I developed a pilot project to support identification of unknown details in the films. The resulting website displays an edited selection of the films and provides accessible tools to identify people, places, and events depicted within them, and was designed to encourage visitors to explore and perhaps provide new information about their own history.

Under the mentorship of Sonya Rooney, University Archivist, Joy Novak, Head of Special Collections, and Lydia Creech, Film and Media Archive Curator, the website is now publicly accessible. Several films were chosen which captured student events at and around WashU. Along with screenshot images and descriptions, the site includes more information about the history of the collection with resources about amateur films and film preservation.

The website includes edited clips and a submission form with detailed instructions for providing more identifying information about people, locations, and events in the films. Future events are being considered to invite alumni to visit the project site and submit memories, names, or further details to help enhance the films’ context for historical research.

This project is intended to promote public participation and demonstrate the value of amateur films. It also serves as a case study for processing amateur films through crowdsourcing identification. While academic archives of home movies exist, there are very different processing approaches based on resources and staff. Developing tools to support effective and consistent practices has value for our own collections and for the field at large.

Scenes from Films in the Johnson Collection