UNT Special Collections is pleased to announce a new partnership with Donald “Tortellini” Thomas II for the purposes of sharing and promoting culturally relevant content from the NBC5/KXAS Television News Archive on The Village Oak Cliff Instagram channel: @villageoakcliff. This mutually beneficial collaboration will extend the reach the NBC5 archive, while showcasing historical news footage that celebrates the unique history and accomplishments of Oak Cliff for followers of @villageoakcliff.

“The Village” project was created by Don “Tortellini” Thomas as a preservation of culture through photography and cinematography, aimed to educate, preserve, represent, and contextualize life and history in Oak Cliff. There is an unquestionable community pride that resonates throughout the Oak Cliff; however, this unique context is often overshadowed by stories of crime and poverty. The Village is a place for people in the Oak Cliff community and beyond to learn about and celebrate their own people, places, and traditions.

UNT Special Collections and @villageoak cliff share a mission to collect and share underrepresented stories—both current and historical. This partnership will further this educational mission by showcasing Oak Cliff history and culture in a popular social media platform and encouraging community input and engagement as people share and discuss archival news footage. Sharing this important history will help inspire generations to come.

UNT Special Collections has managed the archive of NBC5 since 2014, and over the past 10 years has digitized approximately half of the film and video footage in the oldest and largest television news archive in Texas. UNT Special Collections has exclusive rights to license and provide permission for use of footage from the archive. Footage provided to @villageoakcliff is intended for educational, non-commercial use. Any requests for use of footage beyond viewing on @villageoakcliff should be directed to specialcollections@unt.edu.

UNT Special Collections is already familiar Thomas’s work, having acquired a series of his original photography in 2021 and partnering with Thomas to provide NBC5 footage for his short film Chaos on Commerce in 2024. This new project will further extend our already productive relationship to include @villageoakcliff. We are looking forward to working together!