Bill Russell oral history interview conducted by Taylor Branch in Seattle, Washington, 2013-05-12.

Summary: Basketball player Bill Russell remembers his childhood in Louisiana and Oakland, California, in the 1940s. After winning two Final Fours with the University of San Francisco, he won an Olympic gold medal and an NBA championship playing for the Boston Celtics, one of thirteen Russell would win, including eight in a row. Russell had a difficult relationship with the sports media in Boston, but a better one with his Celtics teammates. He defends the organization as progressive on racial matters (as opposed to the Red Sox) and describes a post-retirement reconciliation with Boston that resulted in considerable Red Sox support for his mentoring organization and a statue of him, erected in 2013.
Biographical History: Bill Russell was a leader in the sports arena as an advocate for justice and equality, both as a member of the basketball teams for the University of San Francisco and the Boston Celtics.
Acquisition Note: The Civil Rights History Project is a joint project of the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of African American History and Culture to collect video and audio recordings of personal histories and testimonials of individuals who participated in the Civil Rights movement.
Existence and Location of Copies: Copies of items are also held at the National Museum of African American History and Culture (U.S.).
Conditions Governing Access: Collection is open for research. Access to recordings may be restricted. To request materials, please contact the Folklife Reading Room at http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/folklife.contact.
Related Archival Materials: Artifacts associated with the interview are at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.