Oral history

Oral history

African American Museum & Library at Oakland Audiovisual Collection

The African American Museum & Library at Oakland Audiovisual Collection consists of 106 audiocassettes, 72 videotapes, 2 CD-Rs, and 2 seven inch reel audiotapes. The audiovisual collection consists of materials acquired by the African American Museum & Library at Oakland, and its predecessor the Northern California Center for Afro-American History & Life. The collection is organized into 16 series by format or subject, and includes recordings of significant African Americans such J. Rupert Picott and Byron Rumford, oral histories with significant African American families and civil rights leaders, and documents various topics related to African American history, culture and experience. View online items at the Internet Archive Dates: circa 1950s-circa 2000s   Collection number: MS207   Creator: African American Museum & Library at Oakland   Collection Size: 7.25 linear feet (5 boxes + 3 audiocassette boxes)   Guide to the African American Museum & Library at Oakland Audiovisual 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.

African American Museum & Library at Oakland Oral History Collection

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. View online items at the Internet Archive. Dates: 2002-2007   Collection number: MS 191   Creator: African American Museum & Library at Oakland   Collection Size: 2.75 linear feet (6 boxes)   Guide to the African American Museum & Library at Oakland Oral History 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.

African Americans Affected by the East Bay Hills Fire Collection

The African Americans Affected by the East Bay Hills Fire Collection was an oral history project undertaken by the African American Museum & Library at Oakland. The African Americans Affected by the East Bay Hills Fire Collection consists of 10 interviews conducted from 1993 to 1995 with African Americans who were living in the East Bay during the Oakland hills firestorm of October 1991. View online items Dates: 1993-1995   Collection number: MS184   Creator: African American Museum & Library at Oakland   Creator: Atkinson, Nicole C.   Collection Size: .75 linear feet (1 box)   Guide to the African Americans Affected by the East Bay Hills Fire Oral History 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.

Beckford (Ruth) Papers

The Ruth Beckford Papers include dance programs, correspondence, lesson plans, oral histories, manuscripts, newspapers clippings, and photographs documenting Beckford’s career as a noted African-Haitian dancer, actress, and teacher. View online items Dates: 1915-1998   Collection number: MS 60   Creator: Beckford, Ruth.   Collection Size: 11.5 linear feet (22 boxes + 1 oversized box)   Guide to the Ruth Beckford 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.

Black Women Stirring the Waters Collection

Dates: 1982-1997   Bulk Dates: (bulk 1994-1997)   Collection number: MS 152   Creator: Black Women Stirring the Waters (Oakland, Calif.)   Creator: Butler, Mary Ellen, 1940-   Collection Size: .75 linear feet (2 boxes)   Guide to the Black Women Stirring the Waters Collection Available at the African American Museum & Library at Oakland (AAMLO) Black Women Stirring the Waters is a Black women’s discussion group founded in 1984 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The group was conceived by Clara Stanton Jones, the first African American to head the public library of a major city and the first African American president of the American Library Association, and Aileen Clarke Hernandez, activist, and former President of the National Organization for Women (NOW). The group was organized with no formal structure, no taboo subjects, and no requirements for membership other than an interest in the dialog. Black Women Stirring the Waters takes its name from a quote attributed to the 19th century abolitionist, Sojourner Truth. In 1997, forty-four members of the group published a collection of autobiographical memoirs discussing ways they have dealt with obstacles and have grown in their lives and careers. The Black Women Stirring the Waters Collection includes contributing authors’ manuscripts and correspondence, history and records of the group, and audio recordings. The collection documents the creation of the organization’s 1997 publication, Black Women Stirring the Waters.  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.

Brown Family Papers

The Brown Family papers include photographs, an oral history, and notes on the Brown family genealogy. The bulk of the papers are photographs documenting the Brown, Clark, and Watkins families, most of which are photographs of various social gatherings around Palo Alto, California in the 1910s. There are also a number of photographs documenting horse racing, ranching, and harvesting at a ranch in Woodland, California in the 1910s. The papers include a photograph album created by Fred Brown when he stationed at Patterson Field, Ft. Campbell, Kahuku Army Airfield and Saipan during World War II. Dates: 1910-1976   Collection number: MS 36   Creator: Brown family.   Creator: Brown, Fred.   Collection Size: .75 linear feet (2 boxes)   Guide to the Brown 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.

Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park Advisory Committee Audio Recordings Collection

Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park was California’s first state historical park designated to African-American pioneers. The Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park Advisory Committee audio recordings collection consists of 22 audiocassette of regional meetings, public hearings, and oral history interviews with the townspeople of Allensworth. View online items Dates: 1974-1977   Collection number: MS 208   Creator: Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park Advisory Committee.   Collection Size: .75 linear feet (1 box)   Guide to the Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park Advisory Committee Audio Recordings 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.

Everly (Helene) Collection

Helene Everly (b. 1928), Afro-German émigré who grew up in Nazi Germany, was born Helene Brell in Munich, Germany on March 18, 1928. The Helene Everly Collection consists of four audiocassettes containing oral history interviews with Helene Everly conducted by Robert L. Haynes, seven photographs depicting WWII scenes and portraits of Helene Everly and her cousin Max Brell, and copies of the article "A Black Woman's Experience in Hitler's Germany" by Nicole Atkinson. View online items Dates: 1995-1996   Collection number: MS 148   Creator: Everly, Helene. African American Museum & Library at Oakland.   Collection Size: .25 linear foot (1 box)   Guide to the Helene Everly 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.

Friends of Negro Spirituals Oral History Collection

The Friends of Negro Spirituals is a educational and cultural organization based in Oakland, California dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Negro spirituals. Founded in 1998 by Sam Edwards and Lyvonne Chrisman, the Friends of Negro Spirituals offers lectures and radio programs on Negro spirituals, research assistance to scholars studying Negro spirituals, and publishes a news journal, The Negro Spiritual. The Friends of Negro Spirituals Oral History collection consists of DVDs and transcriptions of ten oral history interviews conducted in 2007 with supporters of Negro spirituals who work to preserve spirituals in the African American community. The collection includes interviews with William Bell, Lyvonne Chrisman, Marcella Huggins Conley, Doug Edwards, Sam Edwards, Jacqueline B. Hairston, Autris Thomas Paige, Linda Tillery, and Cleophas and Sadie Carter Williams. Dates: 2007   Collection number: MS 196   Creator: Friends of Negro Spirituals (Organization)   Collection Size: 1.0 linear feet (1 box)   Guide to the Friends of Negro Spirituals Oral History 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.

Fuller (Jesse) Collection

Jesse Fuller (1896-1976) was born on Jonesboro, Georgia in March 12, 1896. In 1954 Fuller recorded his most notable song, "San Francisco Bay Blues", and by 1960 Fuller booked a European tour, and devoted himself full time to music. The Jesse Fuller collection consists of newspaper clippings, photographs, and audio recordings. View online items Dates: 1971-1976   Collection number: MS193   Creator: Fuller, Jesse   Creator: Dobrin, Michael   Collection Size: .25 linear feet (1 box)   Guide to the Jesse Fuller 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.

Goggin (Jim ) Oral History Collection

Jim Goggin was the founder of the San Francisco Traditional Jazz Foundation. During his career Goggin helped produce many West Coast jazz recordings and liner notes, and authored numerous jazz articles and ten published books about West Coast jazz music and its performers. The Jim Goggin Oral History Collection consists of 8 oral histories with jazz drummer and band leader Earl Watkins, an oral history with musician and session pianist Rodney Burge, and material as published in the book Earl Watkins: The Life of a Jazz Drummer by Jim Goggin. Dates: circa 2000s   Collection number: MS 185   Creator: Goggin, Jim.   Collection Size: .5 linear feet ((1 box)   Guide to the Jim Goggin Oral History 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.

Jackson (Ida L.) Papers

The Ida L. Jackson (1902-1996) papers encompass certificates, pamphlets, programs, correspondence, and photographs documenting her activities as the first African American public school teacher in Oakland and as the founder of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority on the West Coast.   Dates: 1915-1996   Collection number: MS 39   Creator: Jackson, Ida L., 1902-1996   Collection Size: 1 linear foot (2 boxes)   Guide to the Ida L. Jackson 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.

Loma Prieta Earthquake remembrance collection, 1989-1990

Following the Loma Prieta Earthquake of October 17, 1989, the Oakland Public Library undertook a project to collect memories of the earthquake from the local community. A one-page form with the title “October 17, 1989 Earthquake: Where Were You?” was prepared and distributed throughout the library system. Library visitors recorded their memories on the form, often completely filling both sides of the form with their reminiscences. Some library visitors took the forms home, attached extensive narratives and mailed them back to the library. 175 responses were received, mostly between late October 1989 and June 1990, and they are preserved in this collection.  (OHC COLL 2016-10) 5 folders in box (.21 linear feet) Go here for a more detailed list of this collection's contents.  Available at Oakland History Center, Main Library.  

McGhee (Brownie) Papers

The Brownie McGhee Papers consist of audio cassettes, photographs, programs, and VHS videotape documenting the life and musical career of blues musician Walter B. "Brownie" McGhee (1915-1996). The collection is arranged into three series: I. Brownie McGhee, II. Blues is Truth Foundation, III. Interviews with Styve Homnick. A majority of the Brownie McGhee series consists of 83 audiocassettes of interviews with Brownie McGhee conducted by Leslie Ann Wright and her partner Mike Twomey in preparation of his autobiography. The interviews document McGhee's musical career including his experiences living with blues musician Leadbelly and performing in New York City in the 1940s, traveling internationally as a blues musician, the West Coast Blues scene in California, and his long career in film and television. The collection offers a detailed first person perspective of a blues-folk musician whose career spanned most of the 20th century. View online items Dates: 1990-1996   Collection number: MS 180   Creator: McGhee, Brownie, 1915-1996.   Collector: Twomey, Michael   Collection Size: 3 linear feet (4 boxes)   Guide to the Brownie McGhee 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 Oral History Project : oral history transcripts, 1997-1999

The Oakland Oral History Project aimed to collect the oral histories of senior Oakland residents of different ethnic backgrounds in Oakland. The project focused on race relations, with special emphasis on housing, labor, education, and cultural institutions, and inquired into the forces that shaped Oakland's racial, ethnic and cultural mosaic.   The collection includes transcripts and/or recordings for these interviewees: Mary Adams, Walter Bachemin, Elsie and Albini Giani, Walter Green, Edith K. Hill, Joseph Johnson, Gladys M. Jordan, Alvin W. Kidder, Jean Kushman, Elmer McConnelly, Issac and Hazel McGrew, Margaret Saito, Shirley Smith, Hadwick A. Thompson, Avery Wafer, and Earl Watkins.   (OHC COLL 2015-12) 1 box (0.7 linear feet) Go here for a more detailed list of this collection's contents.  Available at Oakland History Center, Main Library.  

Oakland-Berkeley hills firestorm : Pearman collection 1991-1997

This collection is the work of Donald V. Pearman, an Oakland hills resident who saved his home in the 1991 Oakland-Berkeley hills firestorm with the aid of a garden hose. The experience prompted Pearman to launch an extensive research project on the fire. He conducted interviews of firefighters and homeowners, took photographs, gathered data and assembled reports and studies from many sources.   (OHC COLL 2018-4) 10 boxes (6.25 linear feet) Go here for a more detailed list of this collection's contents.  Available at Oakland History Center, Main Library.  

Oakland-Berkeley hills firestorm collection, 1991-1992

On the Sunday morning of October 20, 1991 strong winds re-ignited embers from a wildfire near the Caldecott Tunnel in the Oakland hills that the Oakland Fire Department had put out the day before. Oakland firefighters were on site that Sunday morning, watching for flare-ups, but they were overwhelmed by the rekindled fire, which quickly became a raging firestorm, destroying over 3,000 dwellings and killing 25 people.   The collection, covering the period Oct. 1991-Dec. 1992., includes reports and findings on the firestorm and its aftermath; audio cassette tapes of Oakland Fire and Police Dept. dispatches during the firestorm, and video cassette (VHS) tapes of local television coverage of the firestorm; aerial photographs and remote sensing data (from a joint project of NASA, the U.C. Berkeley Fire Lab and local fire officials); personal narratives and poems by fire victims, and other memorials (including material on the first anniversary of the firestorm); pet rescue materials; magazines and magazine/newsletter articles; and newspaper articles (in three overlapping compilations).   (OHC COLL 2018-3) 26 boxes (13.8 linear feet) Go here for a more detailed list of this collection's contents.  Available at Oakland History Center, Main Library.  

Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education Oral History Collection

The Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education Oral History Collection consists of 29 oral history interviews conducted in 2001 by Earl Caldwell with prominent Black journalists that began their careers during the 1960s-1970s. A majority of the interviewees worked at television stations or newspapers in California or New York and include interview with: Leandra Abbot, Robert L. Allen, Ed Bradley, Audreen Buffalo, Mary Ellen Butler, Earl Caldwell, Belva Davis, Joy Elliot, Joy Elliot, George Goodman, Al Harvin, Charles Hobson, Charlayne Hunter-Gault, Jane Tillman Irving, Lenore Jenkins-Allen, Jerri Lange, Claude Lewis, Austin Long Scott, Nancy Hicks Maynard, Marquita Poole-Eckert, Dennis Richmond, Gil Scott, Robert Terrell, Wallace Terry, Melba Tolliver, Mel Watkins, Hollie West, Ben Williams, and Valena Williams. View online items Dates: 2001   Collection number: MS 192   Creator: Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education   Collection Size: 1.5 linear feet (2 boxes)   Guide to the Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education Oral History 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.

Turner (Morrie) Papers

Morrie Turner (1923-2014), the first nationally syndicated African American cartoonist, was born on December 11, 1923 in Oakland, California. In the 1960’s Turner created “Wee Pals” a comic strip about an ethnically diverse group of friends. The “Wee Pals” originally appeared in only 5 newspapers but that eventually grew to over 100. In 1972 ABC produced 17 episodes of the “Wee Pals” as an animated series for their Saturday morning lineup. In 1965 Turner became one of the founding members of the East Bay Negro Historical Society (EBNHS). The Morrie Turner Papers consist of five boxes, original drawings and comic strips of the Wee Pals as well as copies of those clipped from the newspaper. Also included are coloring books by Turner, family photos, professional correspondence and contracts as well as an oral history interview with Turner and original hand puppets based upon the Wee Pals.  Dates: 1924-2014   Bulk Dates: 1965-2014   Collection number: MS 24   Creator: Turner, Morrie   Collection Size: 6 linear feet (4 boxes + 2 oversized)   Guide to the Morrie Turner 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.

Williams (Henry Delton) Papers

Henry Delton Williams (b. 1941), costume designer who crafted pieces for Motown and Hollywood stars, was born in Alexandria, Louisiana. The Henry Delton Williams Papers includes performance costumes, clothing, and accessories designed by Williams, as well as correspondence, clippings, photographs and assorted printed material documenting his career as a gospel singer and fashion designer. Dates: 1950-2012   Collection number: MS154   Creator: Williams, Henry Delton.   Collection Size: 6.75 linear feet (5 boxes + 3 oversized boxes)   Guide to the Henry Delton Williams 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.

A-Z Collections Index