The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History Interview with Walter B. Hill


Overview of the Item
	Repository:	The HistoryMakers
		1900 S. Michigan Avenue
		Chicago, Illinois 60616
		(312) 674-1900
		info@thehistorymakers.com
		http://www.thehistorymakers.com
	Interviewer:	Larry Crowe
	Videographer:	Scott Stearns
	Title:	Video Oral History Interview with Walter B. Hill
	Dates:	September 11, 2003
	Abstract:	(ABSTRACT)
	Quantity:	6 Betacam SP videocassettes, 1 half-Hollinger box containing (NUMBER) folders of accompanying materials.
	Identification:	A2003.254
	Language:	The interviews and records are in English

Biographical Note

Walter Hill, Jr., was born in St. Louis on May 22, 1949. After finishing high school, Hill enrolled in the College of Wooster, earning a B.A. in history in 1971. From there, he attended Northern Illinois University, studying American history. Earning an M.A. in 1973, he returned to school to earn a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland in 1988.

After completing his master's degree, Hill taught at St.Louis University from 1974 to 1977. He returned to school in the fall of 1977 to work towards the Ph.D. in U.S. History at the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland. He worked as a graduate teaching assistant and later as an instructor in the Afro-American Studies Program between 1982-1983. While working towards the Ph.D., he also worked at the National Archives and Records Administration as a Graduate Intermittent Research Student until 1983 in the Office of the Archivist and Office of Federal Records. From 1983 to 1984, he held a Pre-Doctoral Fellowship at the Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.

Upon completing the Pre-Doctoral Fellowship in 1984 he returned to the National Archives and Records Administration as an Archivist with the Office of the National Archives where he remained for seven years. In 1990, he left to work in the Office of Public Program, assuming the Director of the Modern Archives Institute and Subject Specialist for Afro-American History. He remained with the Office until 1995 when he departed for the new facility in College Park, Maryland and assumed the position of Senior Archivist and Subject Area Specialist for Afro-American History and Federal Records. In 1984 Hill became an Adjunct Professor of Afro-American History in the Afro-American Studies Department, Howard University, Washington, D.C. and continues to teach courses in Afro-American history.

As a noted historian, Hill has appeared in several documentaries, as well as on Good Morning America, Washington Journal and Fox TV. He serves on the editorial board of the African American History Bulletin, the Executive Council of the Association for the Study of Afro-American History, and on the advisory board of The HistoryMakers, among others. He has also written extensively, his work appearing in such journals as the Newsletter of the American Historical Association and the Journal of Minority Issues. Hill lives in Maryland.

Biographical Note by The HistoryMakers®

Scope and Contents

This life oral history interview with Walter B. Hill was conducted by Larry Crowe on 2003-09-11 in College Park, Maryland and is recorded on 6 30-minute Betacam SP videocassettes. Access copies exist on Betacam SP, VHS, DVD and MPEG-1. The interview contains information on (COMPLETE ONE SENTENCE DESCRIPTION OF INTERVIEW). Accompanying materials in the collection include Walter B. Hill's correspondence with The HistoryMakers® related to the interview; a copy of the signed release form and the production report; the biographical information used by the interviewer to prepare for the interview (DETAILS); paper copies of the interview transcripts, 3 1/2" floppy disks with electronic copies of the transcripts; selected quotes for video clips; photocopies of photographs captured on video; XML files with metadata created in editing and cataloguing the interview for The HistoryMakers Digital Video Library; and paper copies of these XML files.

Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

Access to paper records is restricted. Other restrictions may be applied on a case-by-case basis.

Restrictions on Use

All use of materials must be pre-approved by The HistoryMakers® and appropriate credit must be given. All use credits must be pre-approved by The HistoryMakers®. Copyright is held by The HistoryMakers®.


Index Terms
	This record series is indexed under the following controlled access terms.
	Contributors:
		Crowe, Larry
		Hill, Walter B.
		Stearns, Scott
	Persons:
		(PERSONS)
	Corporate Bodies:
		(CORPORATE BODIES)
	Family Names:
		Hill
	Places:
		(PLACES)
	Subjects:
		(SUBJECTS)
	Document Types:
		Video oral history interview
	Titles:
		The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History Interview with Walter B. Hill

Related Material

Accompanying materials: Accompanying materials are filed in (NUMBER) folders in a half-Hollinger box and shelved at The HistoryMakers® Archives and Collection Library by accession number, separately from the videos.

Administrative Information

Location of Originals

Betacam, VHS, DVD and MPEG-1 access copies are held for in-house use at The HistoryMakers®; Betacam SP, VHS and DVD playback hardware is provided for in-house viewing of the access copies; MPEG-1 copies are searchable and viewable via a digital video database.

Preferred Citation

The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History Interview with Walter B. Hill, September 11, 2003. The HistoryMakers® African American Video Oral History Collection, 1900 S. Michigan Avenue Chicago, Illinois.

Detailed Description/Tape Listings

Video Oral History Interview with Walter B. Hill, Tape 1, September 11, 2003, TRT: 00:29:23.

Historian and archivist Walter B. Hill begins by describing his family background, detailing the lives of his mother and father. Hill recalls his childhood in St. Louis, Missouri, describing his neighborhood. He focuses on growing up in the Pruitt-Igoe housing projects of St. Louis, explaining how the community there was integrated and upwardly mobile. Hill also describes his childhood personality and recalls his elementary school days.

Video Oral History Interview with Walter B. Hill, Tape 2, September 11, 2003, TRT: 00:28:48.

Historian and archivist Walter B. Hill recounts his high school years in St. Louis University, discussing his early study of black history. He then talks about his undergraduate years at The College of Wooster, where he studied history and advocated for the establishment of a black studies department. He pays particular attention to the influence of the 1960s social movements--the Civil Rights Movement, the Black Power movement, and the anti-Vietnam War protests--on his intellectual and emotional development.

Video Oral History Interview with Walter B. Hill, Tape 3, September 11, 2003, TRT: 00:29:48.

Historian and archivist Walter B. Hill recalls his experiences as an exchange student in Kenya, and shares his observations of Kenyan culture and social order. He remembers the social and political context of his undergraduate years at The College of Wooster, and talks about influential scholarship he read. Hill names some of the prominent historians of African American life who influenced his intellectual development.

Video Oral History Interview with Walter B. Hill, Tape 4, September 11, 2003, TRT: 00:30:27.

Historian and archivist Walter B. Hill talks about his graduate studies at the University of Maryland-College Park, where he earned a Ph.D. in history. He then details his career with the National Archives and Records Administration. He discusses at length some of the important and popular areas of interest contained in the National Archives, such as records of the Tuskegee Airmen, the United States Colored Troops, and lynchings of African Americans. He explains how the National Archives preserve the African American history for scholars around the world.

Video Oral History Interview with Walter B. Hill, Tape 5, September 11, 2003, TRT: 00:30:14.

Historian and archivist Walter B. Hill discusses the history of African Americans in the military, dating back to the Revolutionary War and forward through the Civil War and the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II. Citing documents from black soldiers in the National Archives, Hill explains the connections between African American military service and African American abolitionist and civil rights movements. He talks about Hollywood representations of history, and comments on the importance of collecting oral histories. Hill also shares his hopes and concerns for the black community.

Video Oral History Interview with Walter B. Hill, Tape 6, September 11, 2003, TRT: 00:06:00.

Historian and archivist Walter Hill reflects on his life and career, considering his legacy and how he would like to be remembered.