African American Museum & Library at Oakland Oral History Collection, 2002-2007

Summary

Creators:

African American Museum & Library at Oakland

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.

Extent:

2.75 linear feet (6 boxes)

Language:

Languages represented in the collection: English

Preferred citation:

African American Museum & Library at Oakland Oral History collection, MS 191, African American Museum & Library at Oakland, Oakland Public Library. Oakland, California.

Background

Scope and content:

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.

Biographical / historical:

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).

Acquisition information:

Oral history interviews conducted by the African American Museum Library at Oakland.

Processing information:

Processed by Sean Heyliger, December 10, 2015.

Arrangement:

Series I: Oral history interviews

Series II: Eternal Voices oral history project

Rules or conventions:

Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard

Related resources

Additional collection guides:

• Test

Indexed terms

Subjects:

African American educators.
African American families -- California -- Oakland.
Oakland (Calif.) -- Social life and customs.
Oakland (Calif.). West Oakland.
Oakland (Calif.) -- History.

Restrictions:

No access restrictions. Collection is open to the public.

Materials are for use in-library only, non-circulating.

Terms of access:

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:

African American Museum & Library at Oakland Oral History collection, MS 191, African American Museum & Library at Oakland, Oakland Public Library. Oakland, California.

Location of this collection:

Oakland Public Library, African American Museum and Library at Oakland

659 14th Street

Oakland, CA 94612, US

Contact:

(510) 637-0198

aamlo@oaklandlibrary.org

Website

Summary

Extent:

4 boxes

Background

Scope and content:

Contains 63 oral history interviews recorded on DVD, VHS, and mini digital video tapes. The oral history interviews were conducted by the African American Museum & Library at Oakland.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by interviewee's last name.

Background

Scope and content:

Jose Arredondo discusses his experiences growing up in Oakland, California, changes he's seen in the city since his childhood, and the city's Latino community.

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Judge Gordon Baranco discusses his family background and growing up in the San Antonio neighborhood in Oakland, California.

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Louis Bartholomew discusses his family's history migrating from the South, and his experiences growing up in Oakland, California, his work with the community at Allen Temple Baptist Church, and the importance of African American history.

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Ethan Berry discusses his family's history in the San Francisco Bay Area and the American South.

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Artist Milton Bowens discusses growing up the youngest of ten children, mentorship and his development as an artist, and the importance of Oakland, California in his life and work.

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Frances Dunham Catlett discusses her family's history in the church, following Rev. Howard Thurman to California, and her work as a social worker and artist.

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Elizabeth Creely discusses her family's migration to Oakland, California and the development and history of the city.

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Ted Dang discusses his family's history migrating from China, the history and development of Oakland's Chinatown, his experiences growing up in Oakland, California, and his experience during the Oakland Hills Fire and it's aftermath.

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Duane Deterville discusses the art community in Oakland, California.

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Ida Dunson reads excerpts from her poetry, discusses her family and growing up in Oakland, California in the 1930s.

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Rosario Flores discusses her family's migration to California and her childhood growing up in West Oakland and the Fruitvale District of Oakland, California.

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Daniel Galvez discusses his family's history and living and working as a muralist in Oakland, California.

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Educator Gladys Jordan discusses her family's struggles with Jim Crow laws and the Great Depression in Oklahoma, migrating from Oklahoma and working at the Naval Supply Depot in Oakland during World War II, her participation in the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, and her experiences as a teacher in Berkeley and Oakland.

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Rev. Carl and Beverly Kennedy discuss their migration to California from Texas in the 1960s, and their families' shared history, their association with social movements and programs in Oakland, California, and their family's values.

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Algeria Kirven discusses growing up in the San Antonio neighborhood in Oakland, California, fishing as a child in the Bay Area, and his participation in civil rights, and his work as a educator.

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Jerri Lange discusses her family's deep roots in Oakland, her father's military service as a 'Buffalo soldier,' the community of West Oakland before World War II, fishing as a child at Jack London Square, clashes between old families and new migrants, and her education and career.

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Bishop Aurea Lewis discusses her family's migration from Louisiana to California during World War II, tensions within the African American community, growing up in Oakland, California, the dispersal of the Black community, and her religious work.

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Lothario Lotho discusses changes he's seen living in Oakland, California and musical, political and cultural organizations in Oakland.

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Earl Martin Price discusses growing up in West Oakland, surfing as a child in Santa Monica, his parent's interracial marriage, his dad's membership in the Communist Party, his involvement in radical politics with Mark Comfort, and his visit to Cuba.

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Ray Raineri discusses his family's history in Oakland, growing up in North Oakland, Oakland's diverse communities, his work as a deputy probation officer, and Oakland's Italian community.

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Bishop Ernestine Reems discusses her family's migration from Oklahoma to Richmond, California in the 1960s, and her ministry in East Oakland.

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Susan Richardson discusses her involvement with social movements during the 1960s, Synanon, and the Black Panther Party.

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Oral history interview with nurse and historian Alice Royal recounting her family’s long history in California, growing up in Allensworth, California, and her experiences as a black nurse.

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Sarah O'Neal Rush discusses growing up in Oakland, California, the Pie Queen, and her great-grandfather Booker T. Washington.

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Patricia Scott-Brooks and Jenee Scott discuss growing up in North Oakland, their parents' barbershop business, and the discrimination they faced in business.

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Rev. J. Alfred Smith Sr. discusses growing up in Kansas City, Missouri, his family's migration to Oakland, California in the 1960s, and his lament of the decay of values within the Black community.

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Odell H. Sylvester Jr. discusses attending the University of California Berkeley in the 1940s, his experiences as an Oakland police officer patroling the night clubs on 7th Street, and growing up in Kansas City, Missouri.

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Dr. Leon Taylor discusses his family's migration to California in the 1950s, his family's values growing up, his participation in the church, and his sense of community.

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Morrie Turner discusses becoming a cartoonist, growing up in West Oakland in the 1930s, and the inspiration and popularity of his comic strip Wee Pals.

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Antonio Valdivia discusses growing up in West Oakland in the 1940s, Pearl Harbor and the internment of their Japanese American neighbors, his family's Mexican restaurant, and liberation theology.

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Dr. Paulina Van discusses migrating to California in the 1960s from Panama, her family, and the sense of community in Oakalnd, California.

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Geraldyne Washington discusses growing up in Oakland in the 1940s, dance, the housing crisis in West Oakland during World War II, tensions between Californians and emigrants from the South, Slim Jenkins and the music scene in Oakland.

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Artist Arnold White discusses growing up in Campbell Village Housing Project in West Oakland, his family, and his artwork.

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Ted White discusses growing up in Oakland, his family's history and work ethic, selling African clothing in the 1970s, Huey Newton and the Black Panther Party, the Vietnam War and his service in the U.S. Navy.

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Rev. Allen Williams discusses growing up in a religious family in Oakland, California, the Black Panther Party, fishing at Lake Merritt, and his educational background.

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Henry Delton Williams discusses his family's migration from Louisiana and growing up in Oakland during the 1940s, protests to form a Black Student Union at Oakland High School, his love of gospel music, the joy of giving back, Slim Jenkins' nightclub and the music scene on 7th St., and his career as a fashion designer.

Background

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Lee Williams discusses his family's migration to California from Texas, growing up in Oakland in the 1940s, his grandparents work in the shipyards during World War II, playing as a child in West Oakland, his experiences as a musician, and the effects of urban redevelopment on Oakland.

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Lucella Williams discusses migrating to Oakland from Louisiana as a child in the 1940s and growing up in West Oakland.

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William Wong discusses growing up in Oakland's Chinatown in the 1940s, his parent's restaurant, the Oakland's ethnic diversity, his work as a journalist at the Oakland Tribune, and his family's celebration of the Chinese New Year.

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Flo Oy Wong discusses growing up in Oakland's Chinatown, her family's history, barriers to Chinese migration to California, her experiences attending Oakland High School, games they played as children, and her decision to become an artist.

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Oscar Wright discusses growing up in Clarksdale, Mississippi the son of sharecroppers, his migration to West Oakland in 1956, discrimination he faced from labor unions, the loss of his house for urban development projects, and his work advocating for the education of African Americans.

Summary

Extent:

2 boxes

Background

Scope and content:

Contains 25 oral history interviews recorded on VHS and audio cassette, biographical statements written by AAMLO Coalition members and/or interviewee, photographs of participants, copies of interview questions, acknowledgements, and supporting documentation of the project. The Eternal Voices oral history project which interviewed prominent and long-time Oakland residents was conducted from 2002-2004 by the AAMLO Coalition, a group of volunteers and supporters of the African American Museum & Library at Oakland. Eternal Voices 2, a program of audio interviews with Oakland families free to tell their story within a five minute period, was recorded in 2004. Eternal Voices 3 “Youth Speaks,” panel discussions with youth from Oakland high schools, was conducted in 2004 and 2005.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by interviewee's last name.

Background

Scope and content:

Oral history interview with social worker and artist Frances Dunham Catlett discussing her family history, moving to the Bay Area in the 1940s, and her career as a social worker and artist.

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Oral history interview with educator Josephine Bynum Dukes discussing her early life growing up in Mississippi, her father’s work as a minister in the Methodist church, and her career as a teacher.

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Oral history interview with Samuel Lewis Golden discussing his family history, his attempts to integrate the Oakland fire department during the 1950s, and his experience as Oakland’s first Black fire chief.

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Oral history interview with Rev. Herbert Guice, minister of Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, and he discusses his experiences as a Baptist minister and long-time champion for housing, education, and civil rights for African Americans in the Bay Area.

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Pauline King discusses moving to California from Louisiana in 1944 while daughter Bernice King Tingle recounts growing up in the Elmhurst neighborhood of Oakland, California.

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Oral history interview with noted businesswoman and club owner Esther Mabry discussing her childhood in Palestine, Texas, moving to Oakland, California during World War II, her restaurant and night club, Esther’s Orbit Room, and changes in West Oakland.

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Valerie and Carl Mack Sr. detail their coming to California from Houston, Texas, to work for the Boy Scouts of America. Carl Mack Jr. discusses growing up near Reid’s Records and Rumford's Pharmacy. Aladrian Mack discusses her father, the first African American to sit on the Alameda County Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Commission.

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Oral history interview with Dorothy Reid Pete discussing her family’s history in the Bay Area and her integration of the Oakland YWCA.

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Tuskegee airman Garnett Quinn discusses his childhood in Oakland and Berkeley, his training as a Tuskegee airman, and his business career as a civil engineer and real estate agent in Stockton, California.

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Loraine Cady Rickmond, founder of the Oakland Bay Area Chapter of Links, discusses her early life and family in Osewayo, Pennsylvania, her husband’s experience as the first African American physician at Herrick Hospital, and her memories as a concert pianist.

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Oral history interview with educator Audrey Gibson Robinson discussing her family’s history in California, her memories of growing up in Oakland, California, and her experience as a teacher and docent.

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Alice Royal discusses her family's history, growing up in Alameda and historic Allensworth, California, the African American community in West Oakland, and attending nursing training at Highland Hospital.

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Ralph E. Scott shares memories of his father, first African American locksmith in California. Other members discuss the Scott family business, the Golden Gate Key and Lock Company, and historical African American-owned businesses located on Seventh Street in Oakland, California.

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Politician and activist Maudelle Shirek. Shirek discusses her childhood and family’s history in Arkansas, and her career as a politician and activist in Berkeley, California.

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The Tribble family speak about relocating to Oakland, California, in the 1970s and African American cultural contributions of the period. George D. Tribble and Reverend Valerie Miles-Tribble discuss their civic activities and involvement with the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame.

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Oral history interview with former baseball player Harold Weathy Turley discussing his family history in Paso Robles, California and his experiences as a baseball player on integrated baseball teams in California in the 1930s.

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Syndicated cartoonist Morrie Turner discusses his childhood in Oakland and Berkeley, California and inspiration for his cartoon strip Wee Pals.

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Activist and ‘mother of the Black Panthers’ Ruth Villa discusses her childhood in Louisiana and her long association with members of the Black Panther Party in Oakland.

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Judith Wiley recounts details of her schooling and upbringing in Oakland, her siblings, and their occupations.

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The four-generation Williams family, long-time residents of Oakland, California, introduce themselves and their children.

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African American filmmaker Allen Willis recounts his childhood in Washington D.C., his involvement with socialist and civil rights movements, and his accomplishments as a filmmaker.

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The Lange family, residing in Oakland since the late 1880’s, discuss their lives and careers. Geraldine “Jerri” Lange, pioneering Bay Area TV broadcaster, producer, print journalist discusses her media career.

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Educator and activist Oscar Carl Wright recounts his childhood growing up the child of sharecroppers in Coahoma County, Mississippi, attending Alcorn State University, and his advocacy for education equality for Black students in the Oakland Unified School District.

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Six youths from Oakland High School, McClymonds High School, and Oakland Technical High School respond to the question “What is it like being a teenager in 2004?” and share their experiences and challenges growing up in Oakland, California.

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Youth from Skyline High School, Fremont High School, Oakland Techincal High School, and St. Mary’s College High School respond to the question “What is it like being a teenager in 2005?” and share viewpoints on growing up in Oakland, California.