This collection documents the academic and personal life of Richard Hill, Jr., primarily as a law student at the University of Michigan. The images include campus events, candid photos of classmates, Alpha Phi Alpha activities including dating and courtship, and athletic games, 1909-1911.
Included with the photos are postcards and other ephemera including Hill's initiation certificate or "shingle," a program for the first annual banquet in 1910, and a program for a 1911 house party. A program for the April 1910 anniversary lists Hill's toast to the seniors entitled, "Survival of the Fittest." The back of the program contains the words to a fraternity song specific to Michigan, including the phrase, "Three in one and one in three, Epsilon and Michigan and our fraternity."
Many of the candid images were taken in and around the off-campus boarding house where he resided at 1017 Catherine Street in Ann Arbor with six other Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity members. These candid images are thought to be some of the earliest known images of informal off-campus life for Black students. Formal photographs document the 1910 banquet that marked the first anniversary of the Epsilon chapter's founding, and the 1911 house party, both taken by Ann Arbor studio photographer Alford S. Lyndon with fraternity members and their dates. The collection also includes the Michigan Law Class of 1911 photo, and a "Cup Debaters" of Michigan Law group photo that includes Hill.
Family photographs taken at Woodland Park, MI, circa 1926. Woodland Park is a historic resort located in Manistee National Forest in northwest Newaygo County; during the era of Jim Crow segregation, it was identified as "Bitely". Photos feature Richard Hill Jr., family, and friends, including Mrs. Frances Hill, Mrs. Marie (Johnson) Moore, Mrs. Helen Abbott (wife of Roger Abbot), Herman E. Moore (1893-1980; second African American to serve as U.S. District Judge for the Virgin Islands), and Robert Sengstacke Abbott (founder of Chicago Defender newspaper). Digitized and restored digital images.
Richard Hill, Jr. (1887-1978) attended the University of Michigan Law School from 1909-1911. The Law School and the University were predominantly white and students of color faced racism during this time. While at the University, Hill helped establish the Epsilon Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha which provided community and a support network for other Black students.
The Epsilon Chapter at Michigan was chartered April 10, 1909, the fifth chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, a historically Black fraternity. The house at 1017 Catherine Street in Ann Arbor was the focal point, operating as the chapter house in its nascent days. It was also the site of the Fourth Annual Convention of Alpha Phi Alpha in 1911.
Hill excelled academically and was recognized for his oratory and debate skills. After graduating, he moved to Chicago to practice law and remained in practice for more than 50 years.
