Mrs. Z.L. Hill was a wonderful woman.
She owned a hotel, that in an earlier time, was one of only a few black hospitals in Mississippi. The singer Bessie Smith died in the hospital after a car accident. She was refused treatment at a white hospital. People can reserve that room. I was running out of money on my big trip to the South. I was 19 at the time, and my Mother had just been diagnosed with breast cancer. She is fine now. I was sitting in the lobby of the Riverside Hotel when Mrs. Hill came out of her room. She sat down with me for a while, and though we didn’t really talk, she let me know it was all right to take her picture. I loved that trip. It is what made me realize that I needed to be a photojournalist.
Ed Collier is a Massachusetts based photographer specializing in Editorial, Wedding, Portrait, Sports, Travel, Product, and Lifestyle Photography. Ed Collier accepts photography assignments nationwide and internationally. Reliable Affordable Professional