Jump to Content

Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Guide to the African American Museum & Library at Oakland Audiovisual Collection
MS207  
View entire collection guide What's This?
Search this collection
Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • 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.)
    Oakland, CA 94612
    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.