Walter B. Hill, Jr. (Finding Aid)

Walter B. Hill, Jr.

1949 - 2008

Favorite Color: Black

Favorite Food: Spaghetti and Meatballs, Cornbread and Green Peas

Favorite Time of Year: Thanksgiving

Favorite Vacation Spot: the beach

Interview Length: 147 minutes

Interview Date(s): September 11, 2003

Interview Location(s): College Park, Maryland

Abstract

Walter Hill recalls his family background and his childhood in St. Louis, Missouri. He focuses on growing up in the Pruitt-Igoe housing projects of St. Louis. Walter Hill recounts his high school and undergraduate years. He pays particular attention to the influence of the 1960s social movements--the Civil Rights Movement, the Black Power movement, and the anti-war protests--on his intellectual and emotional development. Walter Hill recalls his experiences as an exchange student to Kenya. He remembers the social and political context of his undergraduate years, and names some of the prominent historians of African American life who influenced his intellectual development. Walter Hill talks about his graduate studies at the University of Maryland-College Park and 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. Walter Hill discusses the history of African Americans in the military, dating back to the Revolutionary War, and the connections between their 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. Walter Hill reflects on his life and career.

46 Stories (See Ordered Story Set)