Photograph of Disc Jockey Bill “Hawk” Hawkins posing with a high school fan club: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black-and-white photograph of Disc Jockey Bill “Hawk” Hawkins posing with a high school fan club. The photograph depicts Hawkins standing next to four rows of nineteen teenage boys and girls inside a school gymnasium. Hawkins stand in the front on the far left of the group with his body turned towards the right edge of the photograph. His head is turned towards the viewer and he is smiling. AT the front of the group is a teenage boy seated on a soda case filled with three empty bottles. He is wearing a army jacket, black flat cap, medium-toned scarf, and jeans. His elbows are resting on his knees and he cradles his chin with his proper left thumb and pointer finger. The other teenagers are standing in three rows, in front of, and on the gymnasium bleachers. Two boys sit by themselves in the top bleacher on the right. In the background are two large windows covered with metal mesh. The photograph has a white border and a portrait orientation. The back of the photograph is white and plain with a photographer’s stamp and a pencil inscription. The black ink stamp at the center reads [MITCHELL STUDIOS,INC. / 9101 CEDAR AVENUE / RANDOLPH 7611 / CLEVELAND 6, OHIO]. The pencil inscription in the top left quadrant reads [Fan Club / Central High School].

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1948-1958
• Photograph by: Mitchell Studios, Inc., American
• Subject of: Bill Hawkins, American, 1909 - 1975
• Subject of: Unidentified Child or Children
• Subject of: Central High School, American, 1846 - 1982
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 10 × 8 1/8 in. (25.4 × 20.6 cm)
• Place captured: Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, North and Central America
• Place printed: Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Education
• Topic: Music
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Radio
• Object number: 2018.91.2.14
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of W. Allen Taylor, son of "Walkin' Talkin' Bill Hawkins," The First Black Disc Jockey of Cleveland, Ohio
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Unknown – Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.