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Guide to the African American Museum & Library at Oakland Photograph Collection
MS 189  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Descriptive Summary
  • Access
  • Access Restrictions
  • Publication Rights
  • Preferred Citation
  • Processing Information
  • Biography / Administrative History
  • Scope and Content of Collection
  • Arrangement
  • Indexing Terms
  • Separated Material

  • Descriptive Summary

    Title: African American Museum & Library at Oakland Photograph collection
    Dates: 1869-2008
    Collection number: MS 189
    Creator: African American Museum & Library at Oakland
    Collection Size: 21.25 linear feet (30 boxes + 2 oversized boxes + 2 oversized drawers)
    Repository: African American Museum & Library at Oakland (Oakland, Calif.)
    Oakland, CA 94612
    Abstract: The African American Museum & Library at Oakland Photograph Collection consists of 2,329 photographs documenting African Americans in California between 1869-2008. The photograph collection consists of photographs donated to the African American Museum & Library at Oakland, and its predecessor the East Bay Negro Historical Society. The collection is organized into 28 series by subject, and includes photographs of significant African Americans such Martin Luther King Jr., Thurgood Marshall, and Byron Rumford, and documents various aspects of the African American community in Oakland including athletics, business, churches, civil rights, early pioneers, entertainment, military, fraternal and women's organizations.
    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 Photograph Collection must be obtained from the African American Museum & Library at Oakland.

    Preferred Citation

    African American Museum & Library at Oakland Photograph collection, MS 189, African American Museum & Library at Oakland, Oakland Public Library. Oakland, California.

    Processing Information

    Collection was processed by Sean Heyliger, 2015. Finding aid updated by Sean Heyliger on September 2, 2016 to incorporate material in Accession 2016-058. Finding aid updated by Sean Heyliger on October 6, 2016 to incorporate material in Accession 2016-081, 2016-082, and 2016-083.Finding aid updated by Sean Heyliger on October 7, 2017 to incorporate material in Accession 2017-041.Finding aid updated by Sean Heyliger on December 27, 2017 to incorporate material in Accession 2017-095.Finding aid updated by Sean Heyliger on January 13, 2018 to incorporate material in Accession 2018-004 and 2018-005.Finding aid updated by Sean Heyliger on April 28, 2018 to incorporate material in Accession 2018-011.Finding aid updated by Sean Heyliger on November 17, 2018 to incorporate material in Accession 2018-030.

    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 Photograph Collection consists of 2,329 photographs documenting African Americans in California between 1869-2008. The photograph collection consists of photographs donated to the African American Museum & Library at Oakland, and its predecessor the East Bay Negro Historical Society. The collection is organized into 28 series by subject, and includes photographs of significant African Americans such Martin Luther King Jr., Thurgood Marshall, and Byron Rumford, and documents various aspects of the African American community in Oakland including athletics, business, churches, civil rights, early pioneers, entertainment, military, fraternal and women's organizations.

    Arrangement

    The collection is arranged into 28 series by subject. Series include: Access to Life exhibit, Allensworth, Architecture, Assorted, Civic affairs, Civil rights, Cowboys and ranchers, Depression era, Education, Entertainment, Entrepreneurship, Home life, Leisure, Media, Military, Miscellaneous, Occupations, Organizations, Panoramas, Pioneers, Politics, Portraits, Railroads, Religion, Sports, Stereoscope slides, Street scenes, World War II.

    Indexing Terms

    The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
    African Americans--California.
    African Americans--California--Allensworth--History.
    Civil rights--California.
    Oakland (Calif.)--History.
    Oakland (Calif.)--Politics and government.
    Oakland (Calif.)--Race relations.
    Oakland (Calif.)--Social conditions.
    West Oakland (Oakland, Calif.)--History.
    African Americans--Religion--History.

    Separated Material

    Duplicate photographs and photographs held in other repositories were removed from collection and placed in accession file.