Collection context
Summary
- Abstract:
- Research material and correspondence related to the development and use of the 1970 board game "Blacks & Whites". The collection also includes slide albums of photos taken by Dr. Sommer, optical disks, and textual material relating to his interests in psychology, environmental design and urban planning, bike infastructure, farmers markets and cooperatives, urban forestry and mushrooming.
- Extent:
- 4 linear feet
- Language:
- English .
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of Item], Robert Sommer Papers, D-715, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
Research material and correspondence related to the development and use of the board game "Blacks & Whites". The research materials for the game also include Sommer's research and reference articles regarding zoning, ghettos, etc. Drafts of the game and a copy of the game are also included in the collection.
The collection also includes photo slides of photos taken by Sommer of the built environment and artwork with a geographic focus on Davis, Northern California, Oregon and Washington. The materials in the optical disks and textual materials relate to his interests and publications in psychology, environmental design and urban planning, bike infastructure, farmers markets and cooperatives, urban forestry and mushrooming.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Dr. Robert (Bob) Sommer (1929 - 2021) was born in Manhattan, New York. He received his Ph.D. in psychology from Kansas University in 1956. In 1963, he and his family moved to California when he became an associate professor of psychology for the University of California, Davis. He later chaired the departments of environmental design, rhetoric and communication, and art. From 1978-1992, Dr. Sommer was the Director of the Center for Consumer Research at UC Davis which researches consumer attitudes toward food safety and quality. Dr. Sommer taught at UC Davis until his retirement in 2003, after which he continued teaching summer school until 2013. He was the author or co-author of 14 books and more than 600 published articles.
Blacks & Whites
Dr. Sommer developed the game with Judy Tart. Blacks & Whites evolved out of Dr. Sommer's response to the board game Monopoly, which he felt should reflect the fact that not every player (in society) starts on equal ground, with the same amount of money, equal opportunity, etc. Blacks & Whites was developed and published by Psychology Today magazine, and the original game was included as a "tear out" in a 1970 issue.
Sommer's first draft was called "Model Cities", which took the Monopoly board and changed the names of the properties, the Chance cards, etc. There are three hand-drawn mock-ups of the Model Cities game in the collection. Board sections include: Ghetto Area, Integrated Neighborhood, Suburbs, Restricted/Estate Zone [Gated communities].
The rules of the game:- Decide whether you're going to be a Black player or White player, but white players have to be in the majority
- Move around the board trying to buy property (some zones restrict whether or how Black players can buy property)
- Black and White players draw from different "Chance" card decks
- You win if you buy all the properties (which almost never happens)
In 2022 New York comedy duo Nehemiah Markos and Jed Feiman developed the 50th Anniversary edition of Blacks & Whites with "brand new artwork, contemporary topics like reparations and gentrification, entertaining modern gameplay, and renewed lessons in the economics of prejudice." Since then, Markos and Feiman have also developed expansion packs for the game.
References:
Bob Sommer 1928-2021. (n.d.). https://sommerr.faculty.ucdavis.edu/
DuBois, Linda. "Robert Sommer." DavisEnterprise, 3 Mar. 2021, www.davisenterprise.com/obituaries/robert-sommer/article_c42a65cb-eb42-595a-9e7b-35d30f2022bb.html
Nikos-Rose, Karen. "How a UC Davis Professor Addressed Racism in Monopoly." UC Davis, 21 Feb. 2023, www.ucdavis.edu/curiosity/news/UC-Davis-professor-addressed-racism-in-monopoly
"Blacks & Whites: 50th Anniversary Edition Board Game: Buy Today." Never Sad, Accessed 1 Aug. 2024. www.neversadonline.com/blacks-whites
- Acquisition information:
- Gift of Barbara Sommer, 2021. Additional materials were donated in 2022.
- Processing information:
-
Vanessa Cardona-Ocegueda created the collection-level finding aid in 2024 with information provided by the donor, Barbara Sommer. Vanessa Cardona-Ocegueda processed the collection and encoded the finding aid in 2025.
- Arrangement:
-
This collection is arranged into the following series and sub-series:
- Series 1: Art, 1970-2006
- Series 2: Bicycles, 1971-2005
- Series 3: Blacks & Whites, 1968-2019
- Sub-Series 3.1: Game Development and Context, 1968-2019
- Sub-Series 3.2: The Game, 1970
- Series 4: Technical Reports and Pamphlets, 1962-2018
- Sub-Series 4.1: Art, 1979-1984
- Sub-Series 4.2: Center for Consumer Research, 1968-1986
- Sub-Series 4.3: Environmental Design and Urban Planning, 1969-1991
- Sub-Series 4.4: Farmers' Markets and Cooperatives, 1973-1998
- Sub-Series 4.5: Psychology, 1962-2018
- Series 5: Miscellaneous, 1969-2008
- Sub-Series 5. 1: General, 1969-2006
- Sub-Series 5. 2: Mixed Content CDs, bulk undated, 2004-2008
- Physical location:
- This collection is stored off-site at the Northern Regional Library Facility. Researchers should contact Archives and Special Collections to request collections in advance.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Collection is open for research.
- Terms of access:
-
All applicable copyrights for the collection are protected under chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code. Requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Archives and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of California as the owner of the physical items. It is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of Item], Robert Sommer Papers, D-715, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.
- Location of this collection:
-
University of California, Davis, Special Collections, UC Davis Library100 NW QuadDavis, CA 95616-5292, US
- Contact:
- (530) 752-1621