Film and Media Archive

Henry Hampton (1940-1998) was a St. Louis native and a 1961 graduate of WashU. In 1968, he established his Boston-based company Blackside, Inc., which quickly became the largest African-American-owned film production company of its time. Hampton’s work in documentary film chronicled the 20th century’s great political and social movements focusing on the lives of the poor and disenfranchised. In addition to the landmark series Eyes on the Prize I and II (1987, 1990), Hampton’s other documentaries include The Great Depression (1993), Malcolm X: Make It Plain (1994), America’s War on Poverty (1995), Breakthrough: The Changing Face of Science in America (1997), I’ll Make Me a World: A Century of African-American Arts (1998); Hopes on the Horizon (1999) and This Far by Faith (2003).

Filmmakers Rick Tejada-Flores and Ray Telles founded Paradigm Productions in 1990. It produces progressive documentary films with a sensitivity to issues of social justice and inclusion. This collection contains materials related to two films produced by the independent documentary company Paradigm Productions. The donation of 53 boxes includes original interviews, photographs, and b-roll footage. There are also research files for two of Paradigm’s films, The Good War and Those Who Refused to Fight It (2000) and Race Is the Place (2005).

William Miles was born in Harlem, New York in 1931 and became a documentary filmmaker whose work focused on the cultural experience and achievements of African-Americans. The Film & Media Archive acquired the Miles Collection in 2005. Materials from the collection include interviews, stock footage, manuscripts, correspondence, and a large collection of photographs. The subjects of Miles’ films ranged from the unique history of Harlem to the under-reported contributions of African-Americans in the military, the space program, sports, and their role in migration out to the West of the United States.