Oliver Hill

Oliver White Hill, Sr. (May 1, 1907 – August 5, 2007) was an American civil rights lawyer from Richmond, Virginia. His work against discrimination helped end "separate but equal".Virginia Lawyers Weekly obituary, August 14, 2007.Robbins L. Gates, The Making of Massive Resistance: Virginia's Politics of Public School Desegregation 1954-1956 (University of North Carolina Press, 1964) pp. 141-143 This was a reason used to support segregation in the United States. He also helped win important legal decisions, such as equality in pay for black teachers, access to school buses, voting rights, jury selection, and employment protection. He retired in 1998 after practicing law for almost 60 years. Along with his other awards, he earned the Presidential Medal of Freedom. This was given to him by President Bill Clinton in 1999. During the 1940s and 1950s, Hill was unsafe because of what he did. Because people called to threaten Hill, Hill's young son was not allowed to answer the telephone. A cross was burned on the Hill family's lawn.Robbins L. Gates, The Making of Massive Resistance: Virginia's Politics of Public School Desegregation 1954-1956 (University of North Carolina Press, 1964) pp. 141-143 Still, Hill continued to work for civil rights. Hill died at the age of 100 in 2007 in Richmond, Virginia. 

 References 

Category:1907 births
Category:2007 deaths
Category:Lawyers from Virginia
Category:American civil rights activists