Henry Hampton (1940-1998) was a St. Louis native and a 1961 graduate of WashU. In 1968, he established Blackside, Inc., which became the largest African-American-owned film production company of its time. Hampton's documentaries include Eyes on the Prize I and II (1987, 1990), 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 including 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. 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.