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.

Black Champions

The complete Black Champions interviews encompass 18 hours of footage featuring such prominent sports figures as Curt Flood, Arthur Ashe, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilma Rudolph, and Floyd Patterson. They provide an in-depth oral history of African American life as it relates to sports and civil rights from the early 1900s to the 1980s. Unrestricted access to this collection of never-before-seen interviews can now provide a substantial research and teaching resource for scholars and students investigating civil rights history and the role of athletics in U.S. culture.  One of the most distinctive aspects of the Black Champions interviews is the strong presence of African American female athletes from the mid-20th Century.