Guide to the Tarea Hall and William Pittman Papers
Available at the African American Museum & Library at Oakland (AAMLO)
Noted civil rights leader, social worker, and radio personality Tarea Hall Pittman (1903-1991) was born in 1903 in Bakersfield, California to William and Susie Hall. In the 1930s, Pittman became active in civil rights organizations, serving as president of the California State Association of Colored Women’s Clubs from 1936-1938, organizing West Coast branches of the National Negro Congress, and hosting the radio program, Negroes in the News, on KDIA in Oakland, California which she would continue to host for over 45 years through the 1970s. She was an active member of the NAACP serving in various roles as an officer of the Alameda County Chapter of the NAACP, Regional Director of the West Coast Region, and Regional Acting Secretary of the NAACP.
Pittman is a central West Coast figure in the Colored Women's Club movement, in addition to her work around significant civil rights issues including organizing protests to force war industries to hire African American workers during World War II, fighting to abolish the segregation of the Oakland Fire Department in 1952, and lobbying for the passage of fair employment practices legislation in California, Arizona, Alaska, and Nevada.
The Tarea Hall and William Pittman Papers includes photographs, correspondence, awards, certificates, financial and legal records, newspaper clippings, programs, and ephemera documenting the life and career of William Pittman and Tarea Hall Pittman.
We encourage researchers to contact AAMLO before visiting so that we can be prepared to assist you. Please call 510-637-2000 or email aamlo@oaklandlibrary.org to arrange an appointment or inquire about access.
