Urban Renewal

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.

Materials on Oakland’s anti-poverty, Model Cities and related community renewal programs from the files of Gene Bernardi, a research associate in the Research Division of the Oakland Department of Human Resources. Under the direction of the Oakland Interagency Project and its successor, the Oakland Economic Development Council, the Research Division wrote grants that funded the various community renewal programs, provided operational support, and was deeply involved in program planning and evaluation. The collection consists of reports, memoranda, grant proposals and other assorted documents, and ranges from the 1960s to the early 1970s.  (OHC COLL 2015-6) 6 boxes (4.3 linear feet) Go here for a more detailed list of this collection's contents.  Available at Oakland History Center, Main Library.  

Photojournalist Marion Neal Fay (1939-2016) covered Bay Area social movements and political events while working as a staff photographer for the Sun-Reporter in the 1960's. Her photographs cover a variety of topics, such as the San Francisco State College strike, Black Panther Party rallies, the Occupation of Alcatraz, peace protests, draft resistance, Bay Area Poor People's Campaign activities, and more. Images of the desegregation of the Berkeley Unified School District and of housing and urban development in the Western Addition and Fillmore Districts are especially noteworthy. More than 300 photographic negatives that Marion Neal Fay shot while working for the Sun-Reporter are included in the Marion Neal Fay Photograph Collection. Dates: 1967-1970    Collection number: MS 229   Creator: Fay, Marion   Collection Size: .25 linear feet (1 box)   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 Oakland chapter of the Junior Chamber of Commerce (also called the Oakland Jaycees) was founded in 1929. Members were men between the ages of 21 and 35. Chapter presidents, elected annually, planned and oversaw meetings, events and programs for the year. Events and programs were evaluated by judges at the California statewide level. Assorted records dealing with events and programs are the core of the collection. Coverage begins in 1935 and ends in 1978; records for 1936-1939 and 1975-1976 are lacking.   The events and programs described in the collection reflect the social and cultural currents of the times, and range widely between recurring events (e.g., the Oakland Miss America pageant and the Oakland Mother of the Year contest) and individual programs on an array of topics including juvenile delinquency, urban renewal and building investment portfolios. A notable 1953 event coordinated with National Guard Day included U.S. army troops in mock battles at Lake Merritt.   (OHC COLL 2021-1)   31 boxes (17 linear feet)   Go here for a more detailed list of this collection's contents.  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.

The Flatlands newspaper collection consists of 34 issues of The Flatlands newspaper printed from 1966-1968. The newspaper consists of news and op-ed articles, profiles, photographs, and events calendars mostly related to poverty, education, housing, police brutality, and politics in East and West Oakland. View online items Dates: 1966-1968   Collection number: MS 197   Collector: Oakland Public Library (Calif.)   Collection Size: 2 linear feet (1 oversized box)   Guide to the The Flatlands Newspaper 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.

Oakland Heritage Alliance files related to the development of the Uptown area of Oakland, California. Files principally concern the designation of the “Uptown Retail and Rehabilitation Area,” of the Central District Urban Renewal Plan, and subsequent development proposals. Materials include city documents, development proposals, including for the Fox Theater, correspondence, including from merchants and Uptown Business Association; and newspaper clippings. Also includes planning documents for a tour of Uptown (2001-2002).   (OHC COLL 2024-1)   7 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.