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Guide to the African American Museum & Library at Oakland Oral History Collection
MS 191
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Title: African American Museum & Library at Oakland Oral History Collection
Dates: 2002-2007
Collection number: MS 191
Creator:
African American Museum & Library at Oakland
Collection Size:
2.75 linear feet
(6 boxes)
Repository:
African American Museum & Library at Oakland (Oakland, Calif.)
Oakland, CA 94612
Abstract: The African American Museum & Library at Oakland Oral History Collection consists of 79 oral history interviews conducted
in 2002-2007. The interviews were initially conducted by the AAMLO Coalition, a group of volunteers and supporters of the
African American Museum & Library at Oakland, which interviewed prominent and long-time Oakland residents in the fields of
education, performing arts, politics and religion.
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 African American Museum & Library at Oakland Oral History Collection must be obtained from
the African American Museum & Library at Oakland.
African American Museum & Library at Oakland Oral History collection, MS 191, African American Museum & Library at Oakland,
Oakland Public Library. Oakland, California.
Oral history interviews conducted by the African American Museum & Library at Oakland.
Processed by Sean Heyliger, December 10, 2015.
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 Oral History Collection consists of 87 oral history interviews conducted
in 2002-2007. The interviews were initially conducted by the AAMLO Coalition, a group of volunteers and supporters of the
African American Museum & Library at Oakland, as the Eternal Voices oral history project which interviewed prominent and long-time
Oakland residents in the fields of education, performing arts, politics and religion. Interviewees included artist Frances
Dunham Catlett, educator Josephine Bynum Dukes, Rev. Herbert Guice, businesswoman Esther Mabry, Dorothy Reid Pete, Tuskegee
airman Garnett Quinn, teacher Audrey Gibson Robinson, nurse and historian Alice Royal, musician Loraine Cody Richmond, politician
Maudelle Shirek, baseball player Turley, Weathy Turley, cartoonist Morrie Turner, activist Ruth Villa, and filmmaker Allen
Willis. The project continued with Eternal Voices 2, a program of audio interviews with multigenerational Oakland families,
and “Youth Speaks,” a panel discussion with youth from various Oakland high schools. The remaining interviews were conducted
beginning in 2007 with residents of Oakland, California discussing the history and evolution of the African American community
in Oakland and form part of the museum’s permanent exhibit. The interviews are arranged alphabetically by interviewee’s last
name.
Series I: Oral history interviews
Series II: Eternal Voices oral history project
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
African American educators.
African American families -- California -- Oakland.
Oakland (Calif.) -- Social life and customs.
Oakland (Calif.). West Oakland.
Oakland (Calif.) -- History.