Oliver Hill 1907 - 2007

Posted by Mike on Monday, August 06

Saturday August 11 Oliver Hill will lie in state in the Executive Mansion. The public viewing will be from noon to 5 p.m. 

Sunday August 12 the Memorial Service will be held at the Greater Richmond Convention Center.

Throughout our history, America has been presented with heroes: people who challenged our country to grow and change for the better. Oliver Hill was one of those heroes.

He challenged America to live up to its ideals of equality and opportunity for all men and women. Even in the face of threats to his personal safety and that of his family, Hill stood up for what he believed was America's promise of self-evident truths: that all men are created equal and divinely endowed with certain unalienable rights including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. As a result, our country has a blueprint for real equality in education, pay and employee protection, voting rights, and jury selection.

Of his life, DPVA Chairman C. Richard Cranwell said:

"Oliver Hill spent his life dedicated to the causes of justice and equality, both here in Virginia and throughout the United States. Because of him, our schools are better, our workplaces fairer and our country is stronger. Mr. Hill challenged our country and changed it for the better. His life is a shining example to us all."

Read what other Virginia leaders have said about Oliver Hill here:

"Few individuals in Virginia's rich history have worked as tirelessly as Oliver Hill to make life better for all of our citizens. His life's work was predicated on the simple truth that all men and women truly are created equal. With righteous determination, a sense of honor, and at considerable personal risk, Mr. Hill methodically and skillfully worked within the legal system to win landmark cases in voting rights, equal pay, better schools, and fair housing. I first learned of Oliver Hill when I read about him in college. I never could have imagined then that I would come to know him as a friend and serve on the same City Council he was elected to in 1948. Anne and I, along with so many of his friends, gathered in his honor in May to celebrate his 100th birthday. It was amazing then to contemplate that his life extended to one-quarter of the entire span of Virginia's history since Jamestown. Virginia has changed in remarkable and laudable ways during the last century and no person had more to do with that than Mr. Hill. As a pioneer for civil rights, an accomplished attorney, and a war veteran, Mr. Hill's dedication to serving the Commonwealth and the country never failed. And, despite all of the accolades and honors he received, Mr. Hill always believed his true legacy was working to challenge the conscience of our Commonwealth and our country. We extend our deepest prayers to his family."
Governor Tim Kaine 

 

"Oliver Hill, through his intellect, his humanity, and his vision positively changed the course of history in Virginia. Both in the courtroom and in the broader court of public opinion, Oliver Hill stood bravely and forthrightly for the equality of all mankind. His tireless work ensured that the Virginia we know today is one in which all men are not only created equal, but are treated equally under the law. Next summer his likeness, along with those of many of the Virginians who stood valiantly for freedom and equality alongside him, will be forever enshrined in the Civil Rights Memorial on the grounds of the State Capitol. However, the legacy of Oliver Hill will best be found not in his likeness, but in his words, his intellect, his perseverance, and the victories he won for freedom and equal opportunity. Virginia has been enriched because of the life and work of Oliver Hill. All Virginians should mourn his passing."
Attorney General Bob McDonnell

 

"Oliver White Hill was an American of the finest order. Hill's legacy of outstanding service to our country through advancing the cause of freedom for all Americans is a shining tribute to the life he led. Oliver Hill dedicated his life to fighting against racism and pushing forward the civil rights and freedoms for generations of Americans. His dedication to this nation was further demonstrated through his military service during World War II. Oliver Hill's life serves as a lesson to all of us of how far we have come and how hard we must continue to work to keep our society moving forward."
U.S. Senator Jim Webb 

In tribute, we would like to know YOUR thoughts and reflections on Hill's life and his contribution to our country. Please post your comments here.

Oliver Hill (May 1, 1907 - August 5, 2007):

Born: Oliver White in Richmond on May 1, 1907
Family: wife, Berensenia Walker, who died in 1993; son, Oliver W. Hill Jr.
Education: undergraduate degree, Howard University, 1931; law degree, Howard, 1933 (graduated second in class behind Thurgood Marshall)
Early victory: won first civil-rights case in 1940 in Norfolk, where the school system was ordered to provide equal pay to teachers
Elected: Richmond City Council, 1948; served one two-year term
Appointed: by President Harry S. Truman to the new Committee on Government Contract Compliance, 1952; by the national Democratic Party to the Biracial Committee on Civil Rights, headed by former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, 1960; assistant to the commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration under President John F. Kennedy, 1961; by Gov. Mills E. Godwin Jr. to the Virginia Constitutional Revision Committee, 1971
Landmark decision: one of five lawyers who argued the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that segregated schools were unconstitutional
Honors: Among many, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, 1999; the Spingarn Medal, the NAACP's highest honor, 2005

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