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Guide to the Goldie Byrd Ruffin Collection
MS 146  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Descriptive Summary
  • Access
  • Access Restrictions
  • Publication Rights
  • Preferred Citation
  • Acquisition Information
  • Processing Information
  • Biography / Administrative History
  • Scope and Content of Collection
  • Arrangement
  • Indexing Terms
  • Bibliography

  • Descriptive Summary

    Title: Goldie Byrd Ruffin collection
    Collection number: MS 146
    Dates: circa 1940s-1980s
    Bulk Dates: 1956-1958
    Collector: Ruffin, Goldie Byrd
    Creator: Vaughns, William E.
    Collection Size: 1.25 linear feet 1 box + 1 oversized box
    Repository: African American Museum & Library at Oakland (Oakland, Calif.)
    Oakland, CA 94612
    Abstract: The Goldie Byrd Ruffin Collection includes photographs, ephemera, and newspaper clippings collected by her about her uncle, George R. Vaughns, and correspondence, photographs, and clippings of his brother, William E. Vaughns. This collection shows an era of political activity of African Americans in Alameda County in the 1950s-60s and highlights the achievements of two prominent African American professionals, and their endeavors to further civil rights legislation and litigation.
    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 Goldie Byrd Ruffin Collection must be obtained from the African American Museum & Library at Oakland.

    Preferred Citation

    Goldie Byrd Ruffin collection, African American Museum & Library at Oakland, Oakland Public Library. Oakland, California.

    Acquisition Information

    The collection was donated to the African American Museum & Library at Oakland by Goldie Byrd Ruffin on May 16, 2003.

    Processing Information

    Processed by Jennifer Pickens, March 11, 2015.

    Biography / Administrative History

    Goldie Byrd Ruffin was a long-time resident of Oakland California with connections to African American political organizations and relatives that were active in civil rights and politics, including her uncles, George R. Vaughns and William E. Vaughns. George R. Vaughns was a renowned attorney in northern California who ran for Superior Court Judge of Alameda County in 1962. He was a founding member of the Charles Houston Law Club, later to become the Charles Houston Bar Association, an organization dedicated to supporting African American lawyers and civil rights litigation. William E. Vaughns was president of the Alameda County Republican League, active in the 1956 presidential election, and worked with the Republican National Committee Director of Minorities Val J. Washington and his Assistant Thalia D. Thomas toward the election of Republican congressmen in the 17th Assembly District precinct. He was also active in local elections of city council members. He retired from his job at the Pacific Fire Rating Bureau in 1966 after 48 years of service.

    Scope and Content of Collection

    The Goldie Byrd Ruffin Collection includes photographs, ephemera, and newspaper clippings about her uncle, George R. Vaughns, and correspondence, photographs, and clippings of his brother, William E. Vaughns. She collected photographs and newspaper clippings about George R. Vaughns and his wife, and ephemera from his 1962 campaign for Superior Court Judge of Alameda County. She also collected correspondence and papers of his brother William E. Vaughns from his time as President of the Alameda County Republican League in the 1950s, as well as newspaper clippings about him and his political colleagues. The collection is arranged into three series: George R Vaughns; William E. Vaughns; and the scrapbook that held the correspondence, photographs, and clippings. This collection shows an era of political activity of African Americans in Alameda County in the 1950s-60s and highlights the achievements of two prominent African American professionals, and their endeavors to further civil rights legislation and litigation.

    Arrangement

    Series I. George R. Vaughns Series II. William E. Vaughns Series III. Scrapbook

    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 politicians--Alameda County (Calif.)
    African American lawyers--Alameda County (Calif.)
    Alameda County (Calif.)--History.
    African Americans--California--Alameda County--History.
    Alameda County (Calif.)
    Photographs
    Correspondence
    Clippings

    Goldie Byrd Ruffin, Nadine Wilmot, Rosie the Riveter World War II American Homefront Oral History Project, Bancroft Library. Regional Oral History Office.
    Smiley, C. (n.d.). History of the Charles Houston Bar Association.