Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters

Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters

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)   Guide to the African American Museum & Library at Oakland Photograph Collection Available at the African American Museum & Library at Oakland (AAMLO) The African American Museum & Library at Oakland Photograph Collection consists of 1,953 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. View online items 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.

Bean (Sandra) Home Movie Collection

Dates: circa 1930s-1950s   Collection number: MS 160   Creator: Bean, Sandra.   Collection Size: 1.5 linear feet (1 box)   Guide to the Sandra Bean Home Movie Collection Available at the African American Museum & Library at Oakland (AAMLO) The Sandra Bean Home Movie Collection includes nine reels of 8mm and 16mm film documenting African Americans beginning in the late 1930s. The home movies include four b&w and four color films totaling 103 minutes and shows women gardening, children playing, sleeping car porters traveling across the country working for the Pullman Company, and families enjoying their leisure time dancing and fishing. A majority of the footage is thought to be taken by Ernest Bean, a sleeping car porter from the Bay Area, and documents the work of sleeping car porters working for the Pullman Company and middle class African Americans in the Bay Area during the 1930s-1940s. View online items 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.

Bryant Family Papers

Dates: 1916-2017 (bulk 1916-1990)   Bulk Dates: 1916-1990   Collection number: MS 164   Creator: Smith, Jackie Bryant   Collection Size: 5.6 linear feet (5 boxes + 3 oversized boxes + 8 artworks)   Guide to the Bryant Family Papers Available at the African American Museum & Library at Oakland (AAMLO) James J. Bryant was born to George and Addie Bryant in Perry, Kansas, on January 16, 1888, the second son among five brothers. Florence Bryant was born to Henry and Liza Stevens in Linn Creek, Missouri, on January 21, 1894, the youngest of six children. The Bryants were married in Wichita, Kansas, on June 28, 1916 and moved to Oakland in 1938. James was a long-time sleeping car porter for the Pullman Company and active in the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. Florence was named Oakland’s inaugural Mother of the Year in 1954 and was active in organizations such as the March of Dimes. James J. Bryant passed away on March 27, 1976, and Florence Bryant passed away on August 29, 1985. Jackie Bryant Smith, one of five daughters of James J. and Florence Bryant, was born on June 5, 1941, in Oakland and was active with the NAACP. The Bryant Family Papers include correspondence, records, realia, publications, and photographs that document aspects of the family's work life, social life, and political activities. The papers are organized into six series: James J. Bryant, Florence Bryant, Jackie Bryant Smith, Photographs, NAACP, and Printed Material. 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.

Collier Family Papers

The Collier Family Papers include correspondence, photographs, military service records, deeds, and newspaper clippings that document members of the Collier, Taylor, and Coffin families. The papers are organized into six series: Francis B. Collier, Muriel Taylor Collier, Cherie Collier Ivey, Claire Lynne and Muriel Patricia Florey, Willis Patrick and Lillian Taylor, and photographs. The bulk of the collection is approximately 800 photographs of mostly of Frank and Muriel Collier, their children, Patricia Flory, Claire Lynn Flory, and Cherie Collier, and family, friends, and relatives. There are also a number of photographs of Muriel Collier’s first husband, Ishmael Flory, the noted civil and labor rights activist, her father, Willis Patrick Taylor, who was active in the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, and her uncle, Alfred Oscar Coffin, the first African American to receive a Ph.D. in the biological sciences. View online items Dates: 1894-1999   Collection number: MS 23   Creator: Collier, Muriel Taylor   Creator: Collier, Francis B.   Collection Size: 3.5 linear feet (8 boxes + 1 oversized box)   Guide to the Collier Family Papers Available at the African American Museum & Library at Oakland (AAMLO) 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.

Dellums (Cottrell Laurence) Papers

Cottrell Laurence Dellums was born to William H. and Emma Dellums on January 3, 1900 in Corsicana, Texas. The C.L. Dellums papers provide insight into Dellums' career as a civil rights activist and labor leader. They encompass files he maintained as both the International Vice-President of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and as a member of the Fair Employment Practices Commission. In addition, they include some biographical materials and associated artifacts. View online items Dates: 1928-1995   Collection number: MS 14   Creator: Dellums, C. L. (Cottrell Laurence).   Collection Size: 7.25 linear feet (14 boxes + 1 oversized box)   Guide to the Cottrell Laurence Dellums Papers Available at the African American Museum & Library at Oakland (AAMLO) 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.

Ford (Jesse W. and Marcella) Papers

The Jesse W. and Marcella Ford Papers includes correspondence, clippings, photographs, reports, and artifacts that document the life and activities of Jesse W. and Marcella Ford. The collection is organized into three series: Marcella Ford, Jesse W. Fords, and photographs. The collection of archival material related to Marcella Ford includes correspondence to Ford organized by subject, her resume, newspaper clippings related to her work as an early educator of African American history, one typescript manuscript on Oakland's history, badges from conventions attended by Ford, a scrapbook of programs and correspondence related to conventions held by the National Council of Negro Women, and proclamations honoring Ford's contributions to education. The Jesse W. Ford series includes assorted correspondence written to Ford; assorted letters, programs, and artifacts related to his involvement in various social clubs and organization in the Oakland area; manuals, brochures, and correspondence related to his employment with the Pullman Company and member of the Union of Sleeping Car Porters; and a scrapbook of funeral programs attended by Ford. The photograph series includes assorted photographs of Jesse W. and Marcella Ford and relatives and friends between 1907-2001. Dates: 1907-2002   Collection number: MS 10   Creator: Ford, Jesse William, 1890-1972.   Creator: Ford, Marcella, 1900-2002.   Collection Size: 6.75 linear feet (6 boxes + 2 oversized boxes)   Guide to the Jesse W. and Marcella Ford Paper Available at the African American Museum & Library at Oakland (AAMLO) 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.

Wiggan (Elvira Davis) Photograph Collection

The Elvira Wiggan Photograph Collection includes 18 photographs of friends and family of Elvira Davis Wiggan. Included in the collection is a 1860s tin-type portrait of an African American woman, several photographs of Elvira Wiggan’s uncle, Samuel Davis, and photographs of Elvira Wiggan’s father, John Davis, dressed in his Pullman porter uniform. Dates: circa 1860s-1941   Collection number: MS 18   Creator: Wiggan, Elvira Davis.   Collection Size: .2 linear feet (18 photographs)   Guide to the Elvira Davis Wiggan Photograph Collection Available at the African American Museum & Library at Oakland (AAMLO) 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.

A-Z Collections Index