Hill's career in business began in 1949 when he moved to Atlanta, the center of African American entrepreneurship in the United States during the mid-twentieth century.
[3] Hill and Atlanta Life Insurance Company worked to increase African American access to affordable home-mortgage financing in Georgia, Alabama, Texas, and Florida.
[3] During the 1950s and 1960s, Hill used his position of prominence in Atlanta's black business community to promote civil rights in Georgia and Alabama.
As a member of the NAACP's education committee, Hill began recruiting black students to challenge segregation in Georgia's colleges and universities.
During the 1950s and 1960s, Hill raised money from employees at Atlanta Life and donated the funds to Martin Luther King Jr.'s efforts to promote civil rights.
In 1970, as Muhammad Ali's career was on hiatus following his lawsuit against the federal government for refusing to enroll in the Army, Jesse Hill was instrumental in organizing his come-back fight in Atlanta on 26 October 1976.
[3] In 1971, he became a partner of Maynard Jackson's law firm knowing that the young politician would soon run for the seat of mayor of Atlanta.
[3] Hill ran political campaigns for Maynard Jackson, who became the first black mayor of Atlanta, as well as for congressman Andrew Young who later became United Nations ambassador.
Following Carter's election as president, he chose Hill to chair the Minority Business Resource Center, a group created by Congress.
[6][3] Jesse Hill chaired the All-Citizens Registration Committee and helped to desegregate the Atlanta Public School system.