Ruth Edmonds Hill facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ruth Edmonds Hill
Ruth Edmonds Hill in 2015
Born	Ruth Edmonds
Other names	Sister Ruth
Occupation	Scholar, oral historian, oral storytelling editor, journal editor, educator, historic preservation advocate
Spouse(s)	Brother Blue

Ruth Edmonds Hill (born March 5, 1925 – died April 15, 2023) was an American scholar, a person who collects and studies stories from people's lives (called an oral historian), an editor for storytelling, a teacher, and someone who worked to save old, important buildings and places (a historic preservation advocate).

Her office for oral history is part of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. She was a very important person among storytellers, especially in the United States and other countries, and she gave advice to groups of storytellers. Her husband was Dr. Hugh Morgan Hill, also known as Brother Blue. Ruth Edmonds Hill was sometimes called Sister Ruth.

Ruth Edmonds Hill was the daughter of Florence Edmonds, whose life story was recorded and studied as part of African-American oral history. Ruth Edmonds Hill earned degrees from Simmons College and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

She is best known for leading the Black Women Oral History Project. This project, based at the Schlesinger Library at Harvard, collected the life stories of many Black women. It is seen as a very important and groundbreaking work in the field of oral history.

Ruth Edmonds Hill also traveled widely to record oral histories from different communities, including people from Cambodia and Chinese Americans. After her husband Brother Blue passed away in 2009, she continued to host special events to remember him.

Saving History: Family and Old Homes

Ruth Edmonds Hill's mother, Florence Edmonds (1889–1983), was a healthcare specialist. Florence was one of the people whose life story was recorded for the Black Women Oral History Project that Ruth led.

Ruth Edmonds Hill was also the great-granddaughter of Reverend Samuel Harrison (1818–1900). Reverend Harrison was born to enslaved parents in Philadelphia. He became a pastor in Massachusetts and worked hard to get equal pay for Black soldiers fighting in the Union Army during the Civil War.

Reverend Harrison's Legacy

Reverend Harrison served as a chaplain for the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. This was the first all-Black infantry regiment to fight in the Civil War. Their brave actions were shown in the movie Glory.

In May 2004, Ruth Edmonds Hill and her husband, Brother Blue, worked with people in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. They wanted to save Reverend Harrison's old home, the Samuel Harrison House, as a historic site. The city had planned to tear down the house because it was in bad shape.

Saving the Samuel Harrison House

Ruth Edmonds Hill asked the Massachusetts Historical Commission to help. She explained how important her great-grandfather's work was. The Commission agreed and stopped the city from tearing down the house.

A documentary film called A Trumpet at the Walls of Jericho: The Untold Story of Samuel Harrison helped gain support for saving the house. This film was shown on PBS television in 2005.

With help from Congressman John Olver and a special grant, the Samuel Harrison House was saved. On March 22, 2006, it was named a National Register of Historic Places landmark. Ruth Edmonds Hill was there for the groundbreaking ceremony in 2008 to start the renovation work. After renovations that cost $500,000, the house became a museum dedicated to Black history.

The Black Women Oral History Project

In the mid-1970s, the Radcliffe College Schlesinger Library decided to collect the life stories of older Black women. This led to the start of The Black Women Oral History Project.

Ruth Edmonds Hill and a team of interviewers recorded the stories of 71 women between 1976 and 1981. This important work continued even after these first interviews.

Women Featured in the Project

Some of the women whose stories were collected and shared by Ruth Edmonds Hill as part of the Black Women Oral History Project include:

• Frances Mary Albrier (1898–1987), a civil rights activist and union organizer.
• Florence Edmonds (1889–1983), a healthcare specialist from Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and Ruth's mother.
• Fidelia O. Johnson, who earned a Master's degree in Home Economics.
• Maida Springer Kemp (born 1910), a labor leader and activist for women's and civil rights.
• Era Bell Thompson, a journalist and editor.
• Margaret Walker, a writer who earned a Ph.D. in English. Her famous works include the poetry book For My People and the novel Jubilee.

The stories and words of these women have been studied and written about in many other books and articles.

Publications and Exhibitions

Ruth Edmonds Hill helped create several important books and exhibitions based on the oral history projects. These works made the stories of Black women available to a wider audience.

• Black Women Oral History Project: From the Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America by Ruth Edmonds Hill (1992).
• Women of Courage exhibition (University of Iowa, 1991). This exhibition showed photographs and stories from the project.
• Women of Courage: An Exhibition of Photographs book by Judith Sedwick and Ruth Edmonds Hill (1984).

Awards and Recognition

Ruth Edmonds Hill and her husband received many honors for their work.

• Ruth Edmonds Hill was a member of the Editorial Board for The Oral History Review, a journal from Oxford University.
• In 2009, Brother Blue received the W. E. B. Du Bois Medal from Harvard University. This award is named after W. E. B. Du Bois, the first African American to earn a PhD from Harvard. Ruth Edmonds Hill accepted the award for her husband after he passed away.
• The League for the Advancement of New England Storytelling (LANES) has an annual award named the Brother Blue (Hugh Morgan Hill) and Ruth Hill Award. This award honors people who show amazing dedication and support for storytelling and storytellers.
• Ruth Edmonds Hill also served on the Board of Trustees for the Samuel Harrison Society, helping to preserve her great-grandfather's legacy.