Photograph of Disc Jockey Bill “Hawk” Hawkins with an unidentified man: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black-and-white photograph of Disc Jockey Bill “Hawk” Hawkins with an unidentified man, performing for a crowd on a city sidewalk. Hawkins is depicted standing next to a white piano and matching piano bench embellished with light colored polka dots. Hawkins stands left of center, wearing a medium-toned suit, a white collared shirt, a patterned tie, and a straw Stetson hat with leaves and vines embellishing the crown. He is leaning forward, speaking into a microphone on a stand. He has his proper right arm around the shoulders of an unidentified man wearing a white suit, a white collared shirt, and a dark tie with a white vertical band. The man is smiling and looking towards a crowd of onlookers gathered on the right half on the photograph. In the background, on the left, is a door with the number [1942] painted in larger text on the glass. At the center is a metal framed building sign that reads [1940 / FIDELITY / [BUILDI[?]NG] next to a revolving door. The photograph has a white frame and a landscape orientation. There is a loss at the top right corner. The back of this photograph is white and plain.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1949-1958
• Photograph by: Unidentified
• Subject of: Bill Hawkins, American, 1909 - 1975
• Subject of: Unidentified Man or Men
• Subject of: Unidentified Woman or Women
• Subject of: Unidentified Child or Children
• Subject of: WHK, American, founded 1922
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 8 3/16 × 10 in. (20.8 × 25.4 cm)
• Place captured: Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Music
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Radio
• Topic: Urban life
• Object number: 2018.91.2.22
• 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.