Government

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.

Clifford E. Rishell was mayor of Oakland, Calif. from 1949 to 1961. This collection documents his tenure as mayor in a range of settings, including meetings and public functions, and domestic and foreign travels. The collection includes photographs and scrapbooks containing invitations, programs, letters, mementos, newspaper clippings and birthday greetings. (OHC COLL 2020-10) 10 boxes (5 linear feet) Go here for a more detailed list of this collection's contents.  Available at Oakland History Center, Main Library.  

Pamphlets, handbills, articles, and other material relating to Upton Sinclair's EPIC [End Poverty in California] movement, and his election campaign against Frank F. Merriam in the November 1934 California governor's race. (OHC COLL 2012-1) Approximately 60 pieces in 1 box (.3 linear feet) Available at Oakland History Center, Main Library.  

The Ronald V. Dellums Congressional Papers consists of records, artifacts, memorabilia, and related items produced by activities undertaken during his 27-year career as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. These materials include various committee files, hearing and report books; correspondence with constituents and colleagues; sponsored or cosponsored legislative bills; personal files; staff files; press releases and other publications; and subject reference files. View online items Date Range : 1971-1999 inclusive   Collection number: MS 64   Creator: Dellums, Ronald V., 1935-2018   Extent: 432 linear ft. (432 boxes)   Guide to the Ronald V. Dellums Congressional 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.

Letters, municipal records, business records and some personal papers of Oakland, California, mayor Frank K. Mott. The letters relate primarily to his job as mayor (1905-1915), including several that discuss the city's acquisition of the harbor from the Southern Pacific Company in 1909 and the subsequent harbor improvements. There is no discussion of the 1906 earthquake. City of Oakland records include official deeds, grants, and other legal documents, including the Certificate of Election for Mott's first mayoral election in 1905, Official Bonds of the City of Oakland of George Gross as Auditor and Ex Officio Assessor in 1907 and 1909, Mott's brief statement --given that afternoon -- to the people of Oakland regarding the earthquake of 1906, contracts with the Contra Costa Water Company and the Oakland Water Front Company, and financial statements regarding the Grove and Webster Street sewers. Mott's campaign materials consist of blank letterhead and an election mailer. The campaign and recall folder also includes two pieces of ephemera from F. F. Jackson's failed 1911 run against Mott, poems favoring the 1911 recall, a written statement from United States Representative Joseph Knowland against the recall, a list of union men instrumental in the recall effort, and mailers from The Tax-payer's League of Oakland. His personal papers include life insurance policies, leases and receipts for multiple properties, a 1910 Alameda County poll tax receipt, stock certificates for several mining and oil companies, an inventory of household goods for the Mott's home on Lee Street and the accompanying home insurance policy (1935). Bills from the Frank K. Mott Co. and stock transactions and lists of assets of the Suburban Development Co. round out the collection. (OHC MSS MOTT) 7 folders, .2 linear feet Go here for a more detailed list of this collection's contents.  Available at Oakland History Center, Main Library.  

Correspondence, research notes, and copies of materials relating to the life of Horace Walpole Carpentier assembled by Frederick J. Monteagle of Piedmont, California. Mr. Monteagle corresponded with staff members from Universities and State Libraries throughout California and New York regarding information in their collections pertaining to or originating with Mr. Carpentier and many of the strings of correspondence contain copies of letters by Mr. Carpentier or his lawyers. The Galway folder consists of photographs of headstones from cemeteries in Galway, New York, a brief histoy of the town, "A Tour of Galway Today with glimpses of the past" presented by the Galway Bicentennial Commission, and other materials relating to the Carpentier (previously Carpenter) family's history in Galway. (OHC COLL 2014-18) 6 folders in 1 box (.2 linear feet) Go here for a more detailed list of this collection's contents.  Available at Oakland History Center, Main Library.  

Carter Gilmore (1926-2006) was born May 30, 1926, in Grapeland, Texas. In 1977 Gilmore became the first African American elected to the Oakland City Council. He served from 1977 to 1990, during which time he also acted as vice mayor to Lionel J. Wilson. Gilmore also served as president of the NAACP's Alameda branch and, later, of its Northern California division. View online items Dates: 1960-2006   Collection number: MS 151   Creator: Gilmore, Carter.   Collection Size: .5 linear feet (1 box + 1 oversized box)   Guide to the Carter Gilmore 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.

The Elihu M. Harris Papers consist of reports, photographs, subject files, and administrative and financial records documenting Harris' political career as the mayor of Oakland, California from 1991-1999 and as co-owner of KDIA radio station from 1992-1996. Dates: 1968-1998   Collection number: MS 085   Creator: Harris, Elihu, 1947-   Collection Size: 42 linear feet (35 boxes + 3 oversized boxes)   Guide to the Elihu M. Harris 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.

Pamphlets, position papers, articles and other material from various organizations on Japanese Americans as an immigrant group in California in the early 20th Century. Of particular note are materials addressing the issues of quotas on Japanese immigration in the 1920s and 1930s, and the internment of Japanese Americans in 1942. Organizations represented in the collection include the California Joint Immigration Committee, the California Council on Oriental Relations, the Pacific American League, and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce, San Francisco. (OHC COLL 2013-14) Approximately 72 pieces in 1 box (.2 linear feet) Go here for a more detailed list of this collection's contents.  Available at Oakland History Center, Main Library.  

Materials documenting President John F. Kennedy's Charter Day speech at the University of California, Berkeley on Mar. 23, 1962. Included in the collection are photographs and letters of personal observations from people who had contact with President Kennedy during his visit and from the public at large.  (OHC COLL 2013-15) 2 boxes (.6 linear feet) Go here for a more detailed list of this collection's contents.  Available at Oakland History Center, Main Library.  

The material in this collection documents John Sutter's work on three policy fronts: conserving the East Bay shoreline, in particular protecting San Leandro Bay in the face of Oakland International Airport expansion (late 1960s); creating an Oakland Arts Council to promote the visual and performing arts in Oakland (1973-1981); and establishing an Oakland citizens’ complaint board to review police conduct (1979-1981). The collection consists of reports, memoranda, newspaper articles and other ephemera. (OHC COLL 2014-19) 22 folders in 2 boxes (2.2 linear feet)   Go here for a more detailed list of this collection's contents.  Available at Oakland History Center, Main Library.  

Incoming and outgoing letters of Oakland, California, Mayor John L. Davie. The five incoming letters (1915-1923) consist of three short typescript notes and two pre-printed cards, from William H. Taft, Theodore Roosevelt, the Wilson White House, the secretary to President Woodrow Wilson, and Mrs. Warren G. Harding. The three outgoing letters consist of two short typescript letters to Adolph Sutro (1895), President Calvin Coolidge (1924), and one personal letter from Davie to his grandson, Wilbur Davie, addressed to City Hall (1929), and describing Davie's voyage to Scotland. (OHC MSS DAVIE) 8 letters in 1 folder, .02 linear feet Available at Oakland History Center, Main Library.  

Committee rosters, agendas, meeting notes, and reports from the Lake Merritt Area Master Plan Advisory Committee. The committee was appointed by Oakland mayor Elihu Harris in September 1991, and was charged with assessing public interest in Lake Merritt planning, recommending an appropriate planning structure, and examining funding sources. The committee was chaired by Brooks R. Kolb through Dec. 1994. (OHC COLL 2015-15) Go here for a more detailed list of this collection's contents.  Available at Oakland History Center, Main Library.  

The Barbara Lee Papers consist of legislative bills and working files, correspondence, speeches, constituent case files, audiovisual material, subject and administrative files documenting Barbara Lee’s six years as state assemblywoman for California’s 16th District, two years as a state senator for California’s 9th District, and records created by the California Commission on the Status of Black Males (CCSBM). Dates: 1977-1998   Bulk Dates: 1991-1998   Collection number: MS 086   Creator: Lee, Barbara, 1946-   Collection Size: 80 linear feet (80 boxes)   Guide to the Barbara Lee 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.

Early charter provisions, manuals, examinations, compensation and training materials from the Oakland Civil Service Board. Examination listings form the bulk of the collection. Established in the City of Oakland by the adoption a City Charter, effective July 1, 1911, the Civil Service Board establishes positions, fixes compensation, and administers examinations for most positions with the City of Oakland. (OHC COLL 2015-4) 9 folders in 1 box (.4 linear feet) Go here for a more detailed list of this collection's contents.  Available at Oakland History Center, Main Library.  

Dates: 1965-1968   Collection number: MS 198   Creator: Oakland Economic Development Council (Calif.)   Collection Size: 2 linear feet (1 oversized box)   Guide to the Oakland Economic Development Council Newsletter Collection Available at the African American Museum & Library at Oakland (AAMLO) View online items The Oakland Economic Development Council was a local agency established in 1965 to implement programs associated with the Office of Economic Opportunity and the ‘War on Poverty’ in Oakland, California. The council’s programs were funded through Office of Economic Opportunity and Ford Foundation grants and were administered at Neighborhood Service Centers in North Oakland, West Oakland, East Oakland, and Fruitvale. Programs included family planning clinics, preventative health programs, legal aid services, job training, remedial instruction, small business development, dental and eye services, head start and day care, youth employment, and emergency aid and housing for women and children. 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.

Agendas, minutes, and other materials from the Oakland Mayor’s Commission on Disabled Persons, later the Mayor’s Commission on Persons with Disabilities. Since 1990, the commission has acted as the City’s designated advisory body for ADA compliance. (OHC COLL 2015-9) 1 box (.5 linear feet) Go here for a more detailed list of this collection's contents.  Available at Oakland History Center, Main Library.  

Primarily flyers and handbooks from the Oakland Defense Council and the Alameda County Council of Defense. Includes the local ordinances enabling the two defense councils. (OHC COLL 2014-14) 20 pieces in 1 box (.2 linear feet). Available at Oakland History Center, Main Library.  

US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) director Robert B. Pitts (1909-1985) was born in Macon, Georgia. After earning degrees from Howard University and the University of Washington, he served as the first regional director of the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department from 1964-1970. The Robert B. Pitts collection includes a portrait of William and Mattalyn Pitts, proclamations in memoriam, letters of condolence, a program of the Westminster Neighborhood Center renaming ceremony, and assorted magazine articles and newspaper clippings documenting the career of HUD regional secretary Robert B. Pitts. Dates: 1895-1992   Collection number: MS 116   Collector: Pitts, Mattalyn.   Collection Size: 6.5 linear feet (11 boxes + 1 oversized box)   Guide to the Robert B. Pitts 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.

Materials (1950-1964) relating to Rilea family genealogy, as well as documents and ephemera from the careers of brothers Ira M. Rilea Jr. and Howard E. Rilea.   The Rilea family came to West Oakland from Kansas in 1893. Ira M. Rilea worked as a Southern Pacific Railroad conductor. Ira’s sons Howard, Ira Jr., Eugene, and Walter, also worked in various roles at Southern Pacific.   Howard E. Rilea became active in community affairs through the West Oakland Improvement Club. After his retirement from Southern Pacific, Howard served as an Oakland City Council representative of District 3 from 1950-1967, and as Oakland Vice Mayor from 1959-1961. He was responsible for the establishment of Oakland’s Harrison Railroad Park at 7th Street and Harrison.   (OHC MSS RILEA)   1 folder (0.3 linear feet)   Available at Oakland History Center, Main Library. 

The Roberts Family Papers document the activities of a family who achieved many milestones for African-Americans in California. Frederick Madison Roberts (1880-1952) was the first African American to graduate from Los Angeles High School and the first African American state assemblyman. In addition, he worked for the first African-American mortuary to be established in Los Angeles. His wife, Pearl Hinds Roberts (1892-1984), attended both the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the Boston Conservatory of Music. She became the first African-American woman pipe organist in Northern California and founded a very successful choral group which was acclaimed for its performance of spirituals. Frederick and Pearl's daughter, Gloria Pearl Roberts (1924-2011), also pursued a career in music and performed in both the United States and Europe as a concert pianist. View online items Dates: circa 1850s-1984   Collection number: MS 2   Creator: Roberts, Patricia F.   Creator: Roberts, Gloria P.   Collection Size: 3 linear feet (7 boxes + 1 oversized box)   Guide to the Roberts 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.

Oakland California's Snow Museum of Natural History opened in 1922. Specimens collected by big game hunters Henry A. Snow and Leslie Simson on a city-funded African safari in 1919 formed the majority of the collection. Henry Snow was the museum's first director, followed by his daughter, Nydine E. Snow, after his death in 1927. In its early years (1922-1926) the museum also featured some live animals which were cared for by Henry Snow's son Sidney Snow. This small zoo formed the roots of the Oakland Zoo with Sidney Snow serving as its first director. The Snow Museum closed in 1967 and many of its natural history exhibits were folded into the newly created Oakland Museum of California which brought three city-funded museums, including the Snow Museum, under one roof.   This collection includes correspondence, monthly reports and legal documents of the Snow Museum of Natural History in Oakland, California.   (OHC MSS SNOW) 8 folders (.3 linear feet)   Go here for a more detailed list of this collection's contents.  Available at Oakland History Center, Main Library.  

The two scrapbooks in this collection are compilations of articles and speeches by various authors. The first, compiled in the 1950s, concerns labor-management relations and international affairs. The second, compiled in the early 1970s, concerns wildlands management in the East Bay hills, with an emphasis on fire hazard abatement. The third item in the collection is Senator Knowland's campaign manual for re-election to the U.S. Senate in 1952. (OHC COLL 2013-18) 3 volumes in 1 box (.3 linear feet) Go here for a more detailed list of this collection's contents.  Available at Oakland History Center, Main Library.  

Primarily incoming letters and photographs relating to McCracken's eight years as Mayor of Oakland, California. The letters are mostly congratulatory or thankful in nature and the photographs are mostly of ribbon cuttings, banquets, and other ceremonial events. Also contains one folder of programs and campaign material, including programs for the opening ceremonies of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, and the groundbreaking of the Broadway Low Level Tunnel in 1934. Of particular note in the collection are photographs documenting the goodwill visit of the German cruiser Karlsruhe in March, 1935, including images of the parade which show the German Nazi flag flying on Broadway and in front of Oakland City Hall, a banquet honoring Amelia Earhart, the opening of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, Douglas "Wrong Way" Corrigan and his airplane, Oakland Pride Club activities, and the Presidential dinner with Franklin Delano Roosevelt commemorating the groundbreaking for the Golden Gate International Exhibition. (OHC MSS McCRACKEN) 9 folders (.3 linear feet) Go here for a more detailed list of this collection's contents.  Available at Oakland History Center, Main Library.  

The Lionel J. Collection consists of newspaper clippings, political campaign flyers, biographical sketches, photographs, and programs documenting the political career of Oakland’s first black mayor Lionel J. Wilson (1915-1998). The collection is organized into five series: biographical material, programs, photographs, political flyers, and newspaper clippings. The bulk of the collection is newspaper clippings on Wilson’s political career, and also includes photographs of the Oakland City Council and various mayoral events, political flyers from Wilson’s mayoral campaigns in 1977 and 1981, biographical sketches, and programs from mayoral events including the mayor’s annual prayer breakfast and various banquets honoring Wilson. Dates: 1944-1998   Collection number: MS 134   Collector: East Bay Negro Historical Society   Collection Size: .25 linear feet (1 box)   Guide to the Lionel J. Wilson 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.