A planned five-part original documentary series titled “Echoes from The Hill” will explore what life was like for Black residents in this small community within Arlington.

The Hill, which was an approximately five block area of the city, was the only historic addition platted specifically for Arlington’s African American residents. The trailer for the documentary’s introductory episode about the history of the community, titled “A Place of Our Own,” was released Tuesday, Feb. 1. The Arlington Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Committee, which sponsored the documentary, is planning to air the 30-minute episode at a special event this June. Additional details about the premiere and the other four planned episodes will be released later this year on the Arlington MLK website.

The nearly 9-minute trailer features some of the evocative research gathered over the past nine months in the form of photos, maps, documents and excerpts from interviews with Black residents and their descendants who lived in The Hill. Interviews featuring in the trailer include the Rev. Carl Pointer, Bob Ray Sanders, Randy Parker, Bertha Jones, Geraldine Mills and Beverly Jackson on topics ranging from segregation to influential church and business leaders to the vibrant night life in The Hill. The film also features scholars Gene B. Preuss, Ph.D., and W. Marvin Dulaney, Ph.D., who explore African American life in North Texas after emanicipation as well as the history of racial control that would evolve into Jim Crow laws.

The documentary was produced by Southroad Pictures and Sagassé Media Group, with associate producers Geraldine Mills, Anthony Cisneros and Shirley Adams and executive producers Lisa Thompson, Jennifer Wichmann, King Hollis and Lindell Singleton. The project was funded by the Arlington Tomorrow Foundation.

Interesting in learning more about The Hill? Visit the Arlington Public Library's Black History Community Archive. This digital collection, created and hosted by the library, will provide free searchable access 24/7 to many of the historical photos, recordings, and documents that will be featured in the “Echoes from The Hill” documentary projects.