Descriptive Summary
Access
Access Restrictions
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Acquisition Information
Processing Information
Biography / Administrative History
Scope and Content of Collection
Arrangement
Indexing Terms
Descriptive Summary
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.)
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
Access
No access restrictions. Collection is open to the public.
Access Restrictions
Materials are for use in-library only, non-circulating.
Publication Rights
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.
Preferred Citation
Acquisition Information
Oral history interviews conducted by the
African
American
Museum & Library at Oakland.
Processing Information
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.
Arrangement
Series I: Oral history interviews
Series II: Eternal Voices oral history project
Indexing Terms
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.