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Guide to the Joshua Rose Papers
MS 8
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Table of contents
Title: Joshua Rose papers
Dates: 1924-1987
Collection number: MS 8
Creator:
Rose, Joshua
Collection Size:
1 linear foot
(2 boxes + 1 oversized box)
Repository:
African American Museum and Library at Oakland (Oakland, Calif.)
Oakland, CA 94612
Abstract: The Joshua Rose Papers document Rose's life and contributions to the Oakland
community as an executive for the Oakland YMCA and as a member of the Oakland Recreation
Commission and the first African American to serve on the Oakland City Council.
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
No access restrictions. Collection is open to the public.
Materials are for use in-library only, non-circulating.
Permission to publish from the Joshua Rose Papers must be obtained from the African American Museum and Library at Oakland.
Joshua Rose papers, MS 8, African American Museum and Library at Oakland, Oakland Public Library. Oakland, California.
Processed by Marianne Carden, 06/10/1995. Finding aid updated and container list verified by Sean Heyliger, 01/23/2013. Finding
aid updated to add material from Accession #2017-015 by Sean Heyliger on April 21, 2017.
Biography / Administrative History
Joshua Rose was born on September 11,1906 in Lexington, Virginia to George and
Mary Charles Rose. The family later moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where Joshua attended
Schenley High School. He worked his way through the University of Pittsburgh by part-time
work at the steel mills and at the Center Ave. YMCA in Pittsburgh. In 1937, he received a
Bachelor's degree in Business Administration.
Rose's job at the YMCA provided an avenue to his first professional position at the
YMCA in Montclair, New Jersey. In 1939, Rose and his family moved to Oakland, where he
worked to raise funds for the establishment of a branch of the Oakland YMCA to serve the
African American community. The Northwest Branch, as it was eventually called, opened at a
temporary location at 36th and San Pablo and then moved to 3265 Market St. in the early 1940s.
Rose inaugurated many new programs, including summer day camps which combined the
traditional elements of arts and crafts and sports with outdoor excursions and a camping trip to
Yosemite. Through the YMCA's programs, Rose worked to provide many Oakland youth with
constructive activities and summertime employment. He retired in 1967 as Associate General
Secretary of the Metropolitan Branch.
In 1947, Rose was selected over Claude O. Allen to become the first African American member of the Board of Playground Directors.
Later re-named the Oakland Recreation
Commission, the board studied the recreation needs of the city and provided recommendations
for new developments and improvements to existing facilities. During his tenure as a member
between 1947 and 1964, the commission convinced the City of Oakland to establish eight new
recreation centers and to improve athletic facilities at ten existing sites. Rose served as chairman
of the commission from 1961-62.
On August 27, 1964, Rose achieved another milestone when he was selected by Mayor
Houlihan to complete the unexpired term of Robert V. McKeen on the Oakland City Council. As
the first African American to sit on the City Council, Rose served the 2nd District, which
included North Oakland and a portion of Montclair. He was unanimously appointed over three
other candidates, Barney Hilburn, Kenneth F. Smith, and Hampton Barnett, when it was
discovered that only Rose actually resided within the 2nd District. Re-elected for three subsequent
terms in 1965, 1969, and 1973, Rose played a key role in preventing rioting in Oakland during
the late sixties. Public officials commended him for his efforts to find practical solutions to racial
discontent and violence. The lasting effects of injuries sustained in a car accident in 1971
prompted Rose to step down from his position on the City Council in 1977. He officially retired
on June 30,1977.
Rose was a member of the Oakland Rotary Club, Men of Tomorrow, Inc.,
Children's Vision Center of the Eastbay, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, and The Free and Accepted Masons,
Adonis Lodge. He also served on the Speaker's Bureau of
the Community Chest/United Crusade. Rose also served as treasurer and member of the
finance committee at St. Augustine's Episcopal Church and helped to establish a thrift center at
the church to give employment opportunities to youth in the neighborhood. Rose also co-chaired
the first school bond passed by the City of Oakland and helped the Oakland Public School
system to revise the English curriculum at McClymond's High School.
Rose's wife, Virginia, worked for many years in Oakland as head teacher at Longfellow
Child Care Center. His three children, Richard, Virginia, and Mary, remained in California and
pursued successful professional careers. Richard worked as an accountant in Los Angeles,
Virginia as a school teacher in Los Angeles, and Mary as a reporter in Berkeley and Oakland.
Rose died of Parkinson's Disease on April 13, 1987.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Joshua Rose Papers document Rose's life and contributions to the Oakland
community as an executive for the Oakland YMCA and as a member of the Oakland Recreation
Commission and the Oakland City Council. The biographical series includes newspaper clippings, obituaries, correspondence,
and photographs from his youth and of his family. Also included are
assorted certificates from athletic events and a history of the Holy Cross Athletic
Club in Pittsburgh. Assorted personal correspondence also documents honors Rose received from various organizations for his
civic
work.
The papers include only one file of correspondence and reports dating from 1966-67 related to his work with the Oakland YMCA.
This file regards other
branches and their activities and is primarily an exchange of letters between Rose and Wesley
Hunter of the Northeast Branch YMCA.
Rose's political activities are more thoroughly documented through clippings,
correspondence, photographs, and appointment books. His term on the Board of Playground
Directors and its successor, the Oakland Recreation Commission, is outlined in clippings about
his appointment and in a citation from the commission regarding his achievements. Letters of
congratulation, clippings, and photos document Rose's appointment and subsequent re-election to
the Oakland City Council. These reveal how both the public and personal friends reacted to the
appointment of the first African American to the council. Other items, such as election flyers,
business cards, certificates, and clippings, provide an indication of Rose's subsequent years in
this position. Clippings and correspondence prepared upon his retirement offer a summary of
some of his principal contributions as a councilman. In addition, a set of appointment books
covering the entire span' of his terms of office from 1964-1977 offer insight into his daily
schedule. Ceremonial events, as well as campaign and community service activities, are
documented visually in a series of publicity photos.
Series I. Biographical
Series II. Y.M.C.A. Oakland
Series III. Political Activities
Series IV. Photographs
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
Y.M.C.A. Oakland.
Rose, Joshua.
Oakland (Calif.)--History.