Carter Gilmore Papers, 1960-2006

View only results with digital items
Printable guide [HTML]

Summary

Creators:
Gilmore, Carter.
Abstract:
Carter Gilmore (1926-2006) was born May 30, 1926, in Grapeland, Texas. In 1977 Gilmore became the first African American elected to the Oakland City Council. He served from 1977 to 1990, during which time he also acted as vice mayor to Lionel J. Wilson. Gilmore also served as president of the NAACP's Alameda branch and, later, of its Northern California division.
Extent:
.5 linear feet (1 box + 1 oversized box)
Language:
Languages represented in the collection: English
Preferred citation:

Carter Gilmore papers, MS 151, African American Museum & Library at Oakland, Oakland Public Library. Oakland, California.

Background

Scope and content:

The Carter Gilmore papers consist of campaign flyers, resolutions, commendations, plaques, correspondence, photographs, newspaper clippings and assorted print material documenting the career of Carter Gilmore as Oakland City Council member and community leadership. Photographs in the papers include Gilmore alongside prominent African American politicians and leaders such as Willie Brown, Lionel J. Wilson, Coretta Scott King, and Barbara Lee.

Biographical / historical:

Carter Gilmore (1926-2006) was born May 30, 1926, in Grapeland, Texas, son of Payne Gilmore, a sharecropper, and Bertha Owens Gilmore, who together had a large family of 12 or 13 children. Gilmore attended high school in Crockett, Texas, and then served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He married Liz Hampton of Crockett in 1947. In 1951, the couple moved to Oakland, California, where he worked for Granny Goose Foods as plant manager. Gilmore also served as president of the NAACP's Alameda branch and, later, of its Northern California division.

In 1977 Gilmore became the first African American elected to the Oakland City Council. He served from 1977 to 1990, during which time he also acted as vice mayor to Lionel J. Wilson. Gilmore’s achievements on the City Council included creating a city anti-blight ordinance and leading the fight to establish the Citizens Police Review Board and the Housing, Residential Rent and Relocation Board. His work as chairman of the Oakland NAACP's labor and industry committee in the 1990s included leading the investigation of racial discrimination against African American employees at United Parcel Service. Gilmore retired from Granny Goose Foods in 1993, focusing on community advocacy work until his passing on December 23, 2006.

Processing information:

Processed by Sean Heyliger and Sean Dickerson, July 18, 2017.

Arrangement:

Series 1. Politics Series 2. Photographs Series 3. Assorted printed material

Physical location:
African American Museum & Library at Oakland (Oakland, Calif.) Oakland, CA 94612
Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

No access restrictions. Collection is open to the public.

Materials are for use in-library only, non-circulating.

Terms of access:

Permission to publish from the Carter Gilmore Papers must be obtained from the African American Museum & Library at Oakland.

Preferred citation:

Carter Gilmore papers, MS 151, African American Museum & Library at Oakland, Oakland Public Library. Oakland, California.

Location of this collection:
659 14th Street
Oakland, CA 94612, US
Contact:
(510) 637-0198
aamlo@oaklandlibrary.org
Website