William “Bill” Russell Oral History Interview: Museum Object and Cultural History
William “Bill” Russell Oral History Interview: Date: May 12, 2013. Created by: Civil Rights History Project, American, founded 2009. Interview of: Bill Russell, American, 1934 - 2022.
The object in the museum catalogue
The oral history consists of eleven digital files: 2011.174.88.1a, 2011.174.88.1b, 2011.174.88.1c, 2011.174.88.1d, 2011.174.88.1e, 2011.174.88.1f, 2011.174.88.1g, 2011.174.88.1h, 2011.174.88.1i, 2011.174.88.1j, and 2011.174.88.1k.
Basketball player William "Bill" Russell remembers his childhood in Louisiana and Oakland, California, in the 1940s. After winning two Final Fours with the University of San Francisco, he won an Olympic gold medal and an NBA championship playing for the Boston Celtics, one of thirteen Russell would win, including eight in a row. Russell had a difficult relationship with the sports media in Boston, but a better one with his Celtics teammates. He defends the organization as progressive on racial matters (as opposed to the Red Sox) and describes a post-retirement reconciliation with Boston that resulted in considerable Red Sox support for his mentoring organization and a statue of him, erected in 2013.
Materials, dates and provenance
- Date: May 12, 2013
- Created by: Civil Rights History Project, American, founded 2009
- Interview of: Bill Russell, American, 1934 - 2022
- Interviewed by: Taylor Branch, American, born 1947
- Subject of: University of San Francisco, American, founded 1855
- Subject of: National Basketball Association, American, founded 1946
- Subject of: Boston Celtics, American, founded 1946
- Subject of: Major League Baseball, American, founded 1869
- Subject of: Boston Red Sox, American, founded 1901
- Type: video recordings
- Type: oral histories
- Type: digital media - born digital
- Medium: digital
- Dimensions: Duration: 3 hr., 7 min., 25 sec.
- Dimensions: Total: 312.47 GB
- Place collected: Seattle, King County, Washington, United States, North and Central America
- Place depicted: Louisiana, United States, North and Central America
- Place depicted: Oakland, Alameda County, California, United States, North and Central America
- Place depicted: San Francisco, California, United States, North and Central America
- Place depicted: Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States, North and Central America
- Topic: African American
- Topic: Activism
- Topic: American West
- Topic: Athletes
- Topic: Baseball
- Topic: Basketball
- Topic: Civil Rights
- Topic: Education
- Object number: 2011.174.88.1a-k
- Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in partnership with the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
- 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: © Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture and The American Folklife Center, Library of Congress Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
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