Descriptive Summary
Access
Access Restrictions
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Acquisition Information
Processing Information
Biography / Administrative History
Scope and Content of Collection
Arrangement
Indexing Terms
Descriptive Summary
Title: African American Museum & Library at Oakland audiovisual collection
Dates: circa 1950s-circa 2000s
Collection number: MS207
Creator:
African American Museum & Library at Oakland
Collection Size:
7.25 linear feet
(5 boxes + 3 audiocassette boxes)
Repository:
African American Museum & Library at Oakland (Oakland, Calif.)
Abstract: The African American Museum & Library at Oakland Audiovisual Collection consists of 106 audiocassettes, 72 videotapes, 2 CD-Rs,
and 2 seven inch reel audiotapes. The audiovisual collection consists of materials acquired by the African American Museum
& Library at Oakland, and its predecessor the Northern California Center for Afro-American History & Life. The collection
is organized into 16 series by format or subject, and includes recordings of significant African Americans such J. Rupert
Picott and Byron Rumford, oral histories with significant African American families and civil rights leaders, and documents
various topics related to African American history, culture and experience.
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Access
No access restrictions. Collection is open to the public.
Access Restrictions
Materials are for use in-library only, non-circulating.
Publication Rights
Permission to publish must be obtained from the African American Museum & Library at Oakland.
Preferred Citation
African American Museum & Library at Oakland audiovisual collection, MS207, African American Museum & Library at Oakland,
Oakland Public Library. Oakland, California.
Acquisition Information
Audiovisual recordings were assembled by the African American Museum & Library at Oakland and retained in the African American
Museum & Library at Oakland archives.
Processing Information
Processed by Sean Dickerson
Biography / Administrative History
The African American Museum & Library at Oakland (AAMLO) was organized on July 2, 1965 in the home of Marcella Ford as the
East Bay Negro Historical Society (EBNHS). In attendance at the first meeting were the seven founding members of the society:
Marcella Ford, Jesse Ford, Eugene Lasartemay, Ruth Lasartemay, E. Harold Mason, Morrie Turner, and Madison Harvey Jr. The
society’s mission was to “collect, preserve, record, and disseminate information related to the history, culture and experience,
of persons of Black American and African descent, especially those in the East Bay, the State of California and throughout
the West.” The society consisted of members, officers, and an executive board and included library, museum, publications and
publicity, program, membership, finance, and nomination committees which met on the third Saturday of every month. Initially,
the society operated as a unit of the Oakland Unified School District Volunteer Program, with members giving lectures on black
history to students that would visit the library and museum. In 1970, the society moved to a storefront located at 3651 Grove
Street in Oakland, California and remained there for six years before moving to 4519 Grove St., where it established a museum
and library. In 1982, the society was invited into the Golden Gate Branch of the Oakland Public Library, making it the first
Oakland library branch with a collection focused on African American history and culture. Following the appointment of Dr.
Lawrence Crouchett as its executive director in 1988, the society changed its name to the Northern California Center for Afro-American
History & Life (NCCAAHL). In 1994, the City of Oakland and the NCCAAHL merged to create the African American Museum & Library
at Oakland (AAMLO).
Scope and Content of Collection
The African American Museum & Library at Oakland Audiovisual Collection, assembled by the African American Museum & Library
at Oakland, contains 106 audiocassettes, 72 videotapes, 2 CD-Rs, and 2 seven inch reel audiotapes on various topics related
to African American history, culture and experience. The materials date from the 1950s to 2000s. The bulk of the materials
date from the 1990s
Arrangement
Series I. African American Museum & Library at Oakland (AAMLO)
Series II. Binding ties
Series III. Campaign spots
Series IV. Church services
Series V. City council meetings
Series VI. Documentary film
Series VII. Elihu M. Harris
Series VIII. Music
Series IX. Oakland Unified School District
Series X. Oral histories
Series XI. Radio programs
Series XII. Slide shows
Series XIII. Speeches and lectures
Series XIV. Symposia
Series XV. Television news
Series XVI. Assorted
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
African Americans--California.
African Americans--Religion--History.
Civil rights--California.
Oakland (Calif.)--History.
Oakland (Calif.)--Politics and government.
Oakland (Calif.)--Race relations.
Oakland (Calif.)--Social conditions.
West Oakland (Oakland, Calif.)--History.