Film, Motion Picture

Bronson Gentry
Charlie Smith
"Neighborhood" Rolls 7-9
1- Original & Workprint

16mm color workprint with synchronized magnetic audio from the Sue Marx production, "This is My Home, This is Detroit," shot of a weed-clearing project involving children in the Jefferson-Chalmers neighborhood, and of a resident of Oakman Boulevard who takes part in maintaining a garden on one of the street's islands. The clapboards are dated September 14, 1985, however the rolls are labeled September 16, 1985.

In the first segment, Bronson Gentry, clad in a Stark School t-shirt, directs a group of children in clearing weeds, and cutting overgrown bushes in front of an abandoned house on the west corner of Kitchener Street and Essex Avenue, across the street from the Jefferson Square Apartments. The man is interviewed about the project, the neighborhood, and the new housing. Several shots of the Jefferson Square Apartments set to a woman singing the theme song "Detroit, My Home" are also included.

The next segment begins with shots of people gardening on an island on Oakman Boulevard, before focusing in on one man, Charles H. Smith, Jr.. He is then interviewed on the steps to his home at 2255 Oakman Boulevard, as well as in his car during a drive around the neighborhood. He discusses the city, the neighborhood, and briefly interacts with a neighbor.