Shades of North Oakland photograph collection, circa 1888-1999

Collection context

Summary

Creators:
African American Museum & Library at Oakland (Oakland, Calif.)
Abstract:
Shades of North Oakland was a neighborhood photograph collecting project conducted by the African American Museum & Library at Oakland and the Oakland Public Library in July 1999. The project was an outgrowth of a statewide photograph project, Shades of California, that sought to document the daily lives and the historical, political, and cultural contributions of diverse communities in California.
Extent:
.75 linear feet (2 boxes)
Language:
Languages represented in the collection: English
Preferred citation:

Shades of North Oakland photograph collection, MS 99, African American Museum & Library at Oakland, Oakland Public Library. Oakland, California.

Background

Scope and content:

The Shades of North Oakland Photograph Collection consists of photographs, negatives, and project files documenting the neighborhood documentation project. The collection is organized into three series: I. Photographs, II. Negatives III. Shades of North Oakland Project Files. The photograph series includes 273 photographic reproductions and is organized by donor. The photographs document the social, religious, educations, business and political activities of African Americans living in North Oakland mostly from the 1940s-1990s. Most of the photographs are family photos taken by family members and document the everyday life of African Americans in North Oakland. A copy negative was created for each image and also included in the collection. The Shades of North Oakland project files consist of donor information sheets, promotional fliers, program agenda, press release, and a training manual for volunteers.

Biographical / historical:

Shades of North Oakland was a neighborhood photograph collecting project conducted by the African American Museum & Library at Oakland and the Oakland Public Library in July 1999. The project was an outgrowth of a statewide photograph project, Shades of California, that sought to document the daily lives and the historical, political, and cultural contributions of diverse communities in California. Funding for the project was provided by a $10,000 grant from the Library Services and Technology Act of the California State Library’s Shades of California Program, a statewide extension of the Shades of Los Angeles Project at the Los Angeles Public Library. The mission of the Shades of North Oakland Project was to document the activities and history of current and former residents of African descent of the North Oakland neighborhood by copying photographs from family albums and private collections. The photographs were reproduced and donors provided details of the history of each donated photograph and their family’s migration to California. The reproduction prints and negatives were housed in the collection of the archives of the African American Museum & Library at Oakland and the California State Library.

Acquisition information:
Photographs were collected and donated to the African American Museum Library at Oakland by North Oakland community members at a photograph donation and reproduction clinic conducted at Washington Elementary on July 10-11, 1999.
Processing information:

Processed by Sean Heyliger, Archivist, October 20, 2016.

Arrangement:

Series I. Photographs Series II. Negatives Series III. Shades of North Oakland project files

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 Shades of North Oakland Photograph Collection must be obtained from the African American Museum & Library at Oakland.

Preferred citation:

Shades of North Oakland photograph collection, MS 99, 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