African American Museum and Library at Oakland

Last updated
Oakland Public Library
African American Museum and Library at Oakland (2008).jpg
The African American Museum & Library at Oakland
Location map Oakland.png
Red pog.svg
African American Museum and Library
USA California location map.svg
Red pog.svg
African American Museum and Library
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
African American Museum and Library
Location659 14th Street
Oakland, CA, U.S.
Coordinates 37°48′22″N122°16′35″W / 37.80611°N 122.27639°W / 37.80611; -122.27639
Built1900
Architect Walter Danforth Bliss, William Baker Faville
Architectural styleBeaux Arts
NRHP reference No. 83001173 [1]
ODL No.48
Significant dates
Added to NRHPAugust 11, 1983
Designated ODL1981

The African American Museum and Library at Oakland (AAMLO) is a museum and non-circulating library in the Oakland Public Library system dedicated to preserving African American history, experiences and culture. Located on 14th Street in Downtown Oakland, California, United States, the museum contains an extensive archival collection of such artifacts as diaries, correspondence, photos, and periodicals. [2]

Contents

History

The AAMLO is located at the Charles S. Greene building which previously was the Carnegie library. The building served as the Oakland Main Library from 1902 to 1951. [3]

The AAMLO began as a private collection in 1946, and on July 2, 1965, became the East Bay Negro Historical Society (EBNHS). It later changed its name to the Northern California Center for Afro-American History & Life, before being incorporated into the city of Oakland in 1994 under its current name, the African American Museum and Library at Oakland.

Among more than 160 collections in the library are archives relating to Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, the Black Panthers, Africa, and genealogy. Materials include photographs, manuscripts, letters, diaries, newspapers, recorded oral histories, videos, and microfilms. [4] AAMLO's two galleries host changing exhibitions of art, history, and culture, including collaborative exhibitions. [5]

AAMLO's collections include:

Ida Jackson - Oakland's first African American schoolteacher

Ron Dellums - Congressman and mayor of Oakland, California

Marcus Foster - Superintendent of Oakland Schools assassinated in 1973

Barbara Lee - Bay Area Congresswoman

Morrie Turner - Cartoonist, creator of the comic strip Wee Pals

Henry Delton Williams - Hollywood and Motown designer

Eugene and Ruth Lasartemay and Jesse and Marcella Ford began collecting artifacts and documents creating the private collection in 1946. Initially housed in a small shop front on Grove Street (now Martin Luther King Jr. Way), the collection grew quickly and in 1982, was moved into the Oakland Public Library's Golden Gate Branch. It officially became AAMLO, a public/private partnership, in 1994. AAMLO moved into its current location in 2002. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Field Museum of Natural History</span> Natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois

The Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), also known as The Field Museum, is a natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest such museums in the world. The museum is popular for the size and quality of its educational and scientific programs, and its extensive scientific specimen and artifact collections. The permanent exhibitions, which attract up to 2 million visitors annually, include fossils, current cultures from around the world, and interactive programming demonstrating today's urgent conservation needs. The museum is named in honor of its first major benefactor, Marshall Field, the department-store magnate. The museum and its collections originated from the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition and the artifacts displayed at the fair.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penn Museum</span> Archaeological museum

Penn Museum, formally known as The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, is an archaeology and anthropology museum at the University of Pennsylvania. It is located on Penn's campus in the University City neighborhood of Philadelphia, at the intersection of 33rd and South Streets. It also is close enough for Drexel University students to walk or take SEPTA transportation services. Housing over 1.3 million artifacts, the museum features one of the most comprehensive collections of Middle and Near-Eastern art in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naval History and Heritage Command</span> U.S. Navy command dedicated to American naval history and heritage

The Naval History and Heritage Command, formerly the Naval Historical Center, is an Echelon II command responsible for the preservation, analysis, and dissemination of U.S. naval history and heritage located at the historic Washington Navy Yard. The NHHC is composed of 42 facilities in 13 geographic locations including the Navy Department Library, 10 museums and 1 heritage center, USS Constitution repair facility and detachment, and historic ship ex-USS Nautilus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenbow Museum</span> Art and history museum in Calgary, Canada

The Glenbow Museum is an art and history regional museum in the city of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The museum focuses on Western Canadian history and culture, including Indigenous perspectives. The Glenbow was established as a private non-profit foundation in 1955 by lawyer, businessman and philanthropist Eric Lafferty Harvie with materials from his personal collection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Israel Museum</span> National museum of Israel in Jerusalem

The Israel Museum is an art and archaeology museum in Jerusalem. It was established in 1965 as Israel's largest and foremost cultural institution, and one of the world's leading encyclopaedic museums. It is situated on a hill in the Givat Ram neighborhood of Jerusalem, adjacent to the Bible Lands Museum, the National Campus for the Archaeology of Israel, the Knesset, the Israeli Supreme Court, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The Atlanta History Center is a history museum and research center located in the Buckhead district of Atlanta, Georgia. The Museum was founded in 1926, and has a large campus featuring historic gardens and houses, including Swan House, Smith Farm, and Wood Family Cabin. Atlanta History Center's Midtown Campus includes the Margaret Mitchell House & Museum. Atlanta History Center holds one of the largest collections of Civil War artifacts in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California African American Museum</span> Museum in Los Angeles, California

The California African American Museum (CAAM) is a museum located in Exposition Park, Los Angeles, California, United States. The museum focuses on enrichment and education on the cultural heritage and history of African Americans with a focus on California and western United States. Admission is free to all visitors. Their mission statement is "to research, collect, preserve, and interpret for public enrichment the history, art and culture of African Americans with an emphasis on California and the western United States."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moorland–Spingarn Research Center</span> Center at Howard University in the US

The Moorland–Spingarn Research Center (MSRC) in Washington, D.C., is located on the campus of Howard University on the first and ground floors of Founders Library. The MSRC is recognized as one of the world's largest and most comprehensive repositories for the documentation of the history and culture of people of African descent in Africa, the Americas, and other parts of the world. As one of Howard University's major research facilities, the MSRC collects, preserves, organizes and makes available for research a wide range of resources chronicling the Black experience. Thus, it maintains a tradition of service which dates to the formative years of Howard University, when materials related to Africa and African Americans were first acquired.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology</span> Museum in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.

The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology is a museum affiliated with Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1866, the Peabody Museum is one of the oldest and largest museums focusing on anthropological material, with particular focus on the ethnography and archaeology of the Americas. The museum is caretaker to over 1.2 million objects, some 900 feet (270 m) of documents, 2,000 maps and site plans, and about 500,000 photographs. The museum is located at Divinity Avenue on the Harvard University campus. The museum is one of the four Harvard Museums of Science and Culture open to the public.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ayala Museum</span> Art and history museum in Makati, Philippines

The Ayala Museum is a museum in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines. It is run privately by the Ayala Foundation and houses archaeological, ethnographic, historical, fine arts, numismatics, and ecclesiastical exhibits. Since its establishment in 1967, the museum has been committed to showcasing overseas collections and situating contemporary Philippine art in the global arena in a two-way highway of mutual cooperation and exchange with local and international associates. The museum was reopened on December 4, 2021, after a two-year renovation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afro-American Historical and Cultural Society Museum</span> Museum in Jersey City, New Jersey

The Afro-American Historical and Cultural Society Museum is located is on the upper floor of the Greenville Branch of the Jersey City, New Jersey Public Library, its collection is dedicated to the African American experience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oakland Public Library</span> Public library system in California, US

The Oakland Public Library is the public library in Oakland, California. Opened in 1878, the Oakland Public Library currently serves the city of Oakland, along with neighboring smaller cities Emeryville and Piedmont. The Oakland Public Library has the largest collection of any public library in the East Bay, featuring approximately 1.5 million items. It consists of a main library located in downtown Oakland, and 16 branch libraries throughout the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Society of California Pioneers</span>

The Society of California Pioneers, established in 1850, is dedicated to the study and enjoyment of California art, history, and culture. Founded by individuals arriving in California before 1850 and thriving under the leadership of several generations of their direct descendants, the Society has continuously served its members, the academic community, and the public.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Save America's Treasures</span> US government preservation program

Save America's Treasures is a United States federal government initiative to preserve and protect historic buildings, arts, and published works. It is a public–private partnership between the U.S. National Park Service and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, and Institute of Museum and Library Services are also partners in the work. In the early years of the program, Heritage Preservation and the National Park Foundation were also involved.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GLBT Historical Society</span> American non-profit LGBT historical society

The GLBT Historical Society maintains an extensive collection of archival materials, artifacts and graphic arts relating to the history of LGBTQ people in the United States, with a focus on the LGBT communities of San Francisco and Northern California.

During the 19th century and early 20th century, San Jose, California, was home to a large Chinese-American community that was centered around the Santa Clara Valley's agricultural industry. Due to anti-Chinese sentiment and official discrimination, Chinese immigrants and their descendants lived in a succession of five Chinatowns from the 1860s to the 1930s:

Founded in 1916, the Columbia County Historical Society and CCHS Museum & Library collects, preserves, interprets, and presents the history, heritage, and culture of Columbia County, New York, and serves residents of all eighteen Columbia County towns and the city of Hudson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fannie Jackson Coppin Club</span>

The Fannie Jackson Coppin Club, also known as the Fanny Jackson Coppin Club, was a club for politically active African American women located in Alameda County, California. The club played an important role in community outreach to voters before and after the passage of Proposition 4 in 1911 which granted women in California the right to vote. Many of the women involved in the club were active in the California suffrage movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis Lorenz Stein</span>

Louis Lorenz Stein Jr. was an American pharmacist, California East Bay historian and archivist. He is best known for founding the Arlington Pharmacy in Kensington, California and the pharmacy museum at Columbia State Historic Park and for donating collections of historical materials to various California historical societies and museums.

Adolphus Ealey (1941–1992) was an American artist, curator, educator, writer, and entrepreneur. He was African-American and a noted Black art authority, and he was the longtime curator of the Barnett–Aden Collection of Black art.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. "African American Museum & Library at Oakland | Oakland Public Library". www.oaklandlibrary.org. Retrieved 2019-05-18.
  3. https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/83001173_text
  4. Moss, Rick; Powell, Tony; Haynes, Robert L. (1996-10-01). "Historical Agencies: Three California Repositories of African American History and Heritage" . California History. 75 (3). doi:10.2307/25177591. ISSN   0162-2897.
  5. Praetzellis, Mary; Praetzellis, Adrian (2011). "Cultural Resource Management Archaeology and Heritage Values". Historical Archaeology. 45 (1): 86–100. ISSN   0440-9213.
  6. "Discover AAMLO," a brochure of the facility, published by the Oakland Public Library.