In recognition of his exceptional contributions to the National Archives and Records Administration’s (NARA) strategic goals and mission, NARA archivist, historian, and author Dr. Walter B. Hill, Jr., will be posthumously awarded NARA’s first Legacy Award on Thursday, May 9, 2024. This honor is bestowed on a former NARA employee whose work at NARA and contributions support a body of work that genuinely exceeds normal expectations and makes an extraordinary, lasting impact at NARA.
The Archivist of the United States, Dr. Colleen Shogan, announced the new award earlier this month after Dr. Hill was initially nominated for NARA’s Lifetime Award, “We will present this award in honor of an extraordinary lasting impact to the National Archives,” stated Dr. Shogan in a recent notice to NARA staff. Thursday’s ceremony is an annual event in commemoration of Public Service Week. The Archivist’s Achievement Awards celebrate the exemplary accomplishments of NARA employees, volunteers, and citizen archivists who have dedicated their time and talents making NARA a special place to work.
As a Senior Archivist and Subject Area Specialist of African American History in Federal records, Dr. Hill spent 30 years at NARA from 1978 until his passing in 2008. Dr. Hill joined NARA at a time when African American studies was emerging as a specific discipline under the umbrella of U.S. American History. In the 1990s, Dr. Hill led a team of NARA staff and scholars to research Federal records for the publication of a special summer (1997) edition of NARA’s Prologue magazine examining African American History during the Civil War, Reconstruction, Labor History, and the Civil Rights eras. The publication is now available online. This project was a forerunner to the writing of other notable finding aid reference guides: Federal Records Pertaining to Brown v. Board of Education, Topeka, KS (1954) (2004) (Reference Information Paper 112, co-authored with Historian and Archivist, Dr. Trichita M. Chestnut), which received an Archivist Award for Outstanding Achievement in Promoting Civic Understanding in a Diverse Society (December 2004) and Federal Records Relating to Civil Rights in the Post-World War II Era (2006) (Reference Information Paper 113, co-authored with Reference Archivist and Afro-American History Society (AAHS) President (2007-2019), Lisha B. Penn, Hill and other NARA staff.
Dr. Hill led a team of NARA staff who organized a public exhibition of the Emancipation Proclamation in the National Archives Rotunda from December 31, 1992, through January 4, 1993. This exhibit drew tremendous crowds as the document had not been publicly displayed since 1979. Since then, NARA has continued to exhibit the document temporarily and is now planning a permanent display. As a University of Maryland Ph.D. graduate student, Dr. Hill was one of a group of founding members of NARA’s Afro-American History Society (AAHS) and served on the Executive Council board of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). Dr. Hill, a graduate student research assistant, was a research contributor to The Freedom and Southern Society Project under the direction of the late Dr. Ira Berlin. He was also a professor of History at Howard University and mentored several History students. Dr. Hill served on several editorial boards, including the African American History Bulletin (ASALH), Washington History, the Historical Society of Washington, D.C., and the Wesley-Logan Book Award Committee of the American Historical Association. He served as a commissioner on the Maryland State Commission for Afro-American Life and Culture and the Maryland Advisory Board of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
This announcement briefly summarizes Dr. Hill’s contributions and extensive outreach to Washington, D.C., Maryland, and broader academic, government, and professional communities.
The ceremony is scheduled for today, May 9. 2024, at 2:00 p.m. at NARA’s McGowan Theater on Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C.
The event will be live-streamed and can be viewed at https://events.intellor.com/login/508260.
Follow these steps:
- Click on this link:https://events.intellor.com/login/508260
- A new screen will appear, then click on the link titled View in your time zone.
- Virtual Entry will start 10 minutes before the start time. You may need to refresh your page at a link that will also be provided.
- If you cannot join virtually, you may call 1-202-735-3323 and enter access code 5972955#.
- If you plan on attending in person, please enter using the public museum entrance, which will have signs.