Photograph of Disc Jockey Bill “Hawk” Hawkins posing with a group of people: 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 and a group of six unidentified women in matching costumes. The group is standing on a slightly elevated stage in two rows. Hawkins, the man and one woman stand in the front row. Behind them stand the remaining five unidentified women. The women are all wearing capri length, medium-toned pants, white sleeveless collared shirts, a light-toned sash at their waists, white ballet flats, and straw wide rimmed hats with ribbon chin ties. The women in the top row are wearing the hats on their head and the woman in the front row wears her hat on her back. To the right of the woman in the front row is Hawkins, depicted smiling and holding a cigarette in his proper left hand. He is wearing a medium-toned suit, white collared shirt, a dark patterned tie, and has a white pocket square in his left breast pocket. The other man, to the woman’s left, is wearing a dark shiny suit, a white collared shirt, and a dark patterned tie. The five women in the top row are arranged with the two women at each end turned slightly towards the center. The woman at the center of the top row is leaning forward between Hawkins and the woman in the front row. In the background is a painted mural of a reclining woman, a chair, hanging party streamers, and an upright piano. Printed in black in the bottom right corner is the photographer’s mark that reads [Robt. Sneed / PHOTOGRAPHER / CLEVELAND, OHIO]. The photograph has a white frame and a landscape orientation. The back of this photograph is white and plain with a pencil inscription in the top right corner that read [16[underlined]].

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1948-1958
• Photograph by: Robert Sneed, American
• Subject of: Bill Hawkins, American, 1909 - 1975
• Subject of: Unidentified Man or Men
• Subject of: Unidentified Woman or Women
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 8 1/8 × 10 in. (20.6 × 25.4 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: Music
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Radio
• Topic: Theatre
• Object number: 2018.91.2.28
• 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.