Abram Hill facts for kids

Abram Hill, also known as Ab Hill, (born January 20, 1910 – died October 13, 1986) was an American playwright. He wrote famous plays like On Strivers Row and Walk Hard, Talk Loud. Hill was also a very important person in developing black theater, especially in Atlanta, Georgia.

Even though he was well-known for his play On Strivers Row, Hill's biggest achievement was helping to start the American Negro Theater (ANT). He founded it with Frederick O'Neal and other artists from the McClendon Players.

About Abram Hill

His Early Life and School Days

Abram Hill was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 20, 1910. He spent his early childhood there. When he was seven, he acted in a play at Morehouse College. In 1925, his family moved to Harlem, New York. At 13, Hill went to De Witt Clinton High School.

After high school, he studied at City College of New York for two years. He then graduated from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania in 1937. Before graduating, he got a job in drama with the CCC (which stood for Civilian Conservation Corps). There, he directed plays for young men. He studied Theater Arts at Lincoln. After graduating, he worked as an assistant in the university's drama department.

Writing Plays in New York

A year later, Hill returned to New York. He joined the Federal Theatre Project. This was a government program that helped artists during the Great Depression. He worked as a script reader there. While with this group, he wrote two plays: Stealing Lightning and Hell's Half Acre.

These plays were later performed by a group called the Unity Players of the Bronx. This helped him win a special scholarship. He studied drama at the New School for Social Research. During this time, he mostly read plays for others. But he also wrote some of his own, including On Strivers' Row, Walk Hard, and Liberty Deferred.

Starting the American Negro Theater (ANT)

In 1939, the Federal Theater Project closed down. Abram Hill then teamed up with Frederick O'Neal and other theater artists. They decided to create the American Negro Theater (ANT) in Harlem. Hill and O'Neal believed that regular theater did not offer many chances for Black actors. They also felt it made artists compete in an unhealthy way.

ANT wanted to show the Black community its own strength. Directors, writers, technicians, and actors were all seen as equally important. Their main goal was to "break down the barriers" for Black people in theater. They wanted to show Black life honestly. They also aimed to fill the need for a Black theater that did not exist. They hoped to create a place where African-American artists could perform regularly. This would give them chances they couldn't find on Broadway.

In June 1940, ANT started well. It became one of the most successful black theaters. From 1940 to 1950, ANT performed 20 plays. More than half of these plays were brand new. During the years ANT was active, about 50,000 people came to watch their plays.

Before he passed away, Hill remembered how they got people from Harlem to come to the theater. He said, "We sent a wagon up and down the streets of Harlem with somebody beating a drum.... We passed out handbills on the street corners. And we had a family night. We let in five members of the family for a dollar."

After leaving ANT in 1948, Hill kept working. He directed plays for the Lincoln University Players in the early 1950s. He also taught English in New York schools. Abram Hill died in Harlem in 1986. He was 76 years old.

Legacy

In 2015, an exhibition opened at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. It was called The 75th Anniversary of the American Negro Theatre.