Women's Clubs

Women's Clubs

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.

African American Museum & Library at Oakland Vertical File Collection

The African American Museum & Library at Oakland Vertical File Collection consists of programs, flyers, correspondence, posters, pamphlets, and ephemera collected by the African American Museum & Library at Oakland. The East Bay Negro Historical Society began vertical files in the late 1960s, collecting ephemera and newspaper clippings about African American history and culture. The vertical files are arranged alphabetically by subject, organization, or last name, and include correspondence, programs, flyers, and pamphlets mostly about African American organizations and cultural institutions in the Oakland and the East Bay during the mid-20th century (1940s-1970s). Dates: 1828-2017   Collection number: MS 179   Collector: African American Museum & Library at Oakland   Collection Size: 61.5 linear feet (82 boxes + 13 oversized boxes)   Guide to the African American Museum & Library at Oakland Vertical File 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.

Albrier (Frances) Papers

Dates: 1895-1987   Collection number: MS 108   Creator: Albrier, Frances Mary, 1898-1987.   Collection Size: 7.9 linear feet (7 boxes + 2 oversized boxes)   Guide to the Frances Albrier Papers Available at the African American Museum & Library at Oakland (AAMLO) Social activist Frances Albrier (1898-1987) was born on September 21, 1898 in Mt. Vernon, New York to Lewis L. and Laura Redgray. During the late 1930s, Albrier became active in a number of different political and civil rights issues. In 1938, she became the first woman elected to the Alameda County Democratic Central Committee. The following year she became the first woman to run for the Berkeley City Council, led the Citizen’s Employment Council’s “Don’t Buy Where You Can’t Work” campaign, and organized the East Bay Women's Welfare Club, a women’s group which advocated for the hiring of black teachers in the Berkeley Unified School District. During the 1940s, she continued to be active in a number of women's, civil rights, and union organizations while serving as a first aid instructor in the American Red Cross. After her application to become a welder was denied because Black workers did not have an auxiliary union in Richmond, she garnered political pressure in the Black community forcing Kaiser Shipyards to hire her making her the first black woman welder during the war. The Frances Albrier papers include correspondence, legal and financial records, awards, photographs, records of civic organizations and women’s clubs, and assorted printed material documenting Albrier life and participation in various civic organizations and women’s clubs in the San Francisco Bay Area. 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.

Berkeley Civic Study Club Records

Dates: 1932-1974   Collection number: MS 145   Creator: Berkeley Civic Study Club (Berkeley, Calif.).   Collection Size: .25 linear feet (1 box)   Guide to the Berkeley Civic Study Club Records Available at the African American Museum & Library at Oakland (AAMLO) The Swastika Berkeley Civic Study Club was founded in 1924 by a group of African American women wanting to study civic issues and participate in bettering their community. According to club publications, the purpose of the Berkeley Civic Study Club was "[...]to unite its members in non-partisan, educational, and civic work; to present information, and offer for free discussion, civic and legislative problems." The Berkeley Civic Study Club Records consist of one ledger containing meeting minutes, newspaper clippings, correspondence, financial records, and rosters from 1932-1974. 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.

California Native Daughters Club Collection

Dates: 1957-1980   Collection number: MS 42   Creator: California Native Daughters Club   Collection Size: .25 linear feet (1 box)   Guide to the California Native Daughters Club Collection Available at the African American Museum & Library at Oakland (AAMLO) View online items The California Native Daughters Club was founded in Berkeley, California in the late 1950s. Founders included Bertha Allen, the club's first president, and Ruth Lasartemay, who also served as president later. The club joined the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs in 1959. The club was actively involved in multiple local activities such as California Negro History Week. The California Native Daughters Club Collection consists of correspondence, records, printed materials, founding documents, and artifacts related to club activities and member activities. The collection includes correspondence to and from the club and membership information for the women who were in the club and the club's relationship to outside organizations. 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.

Colored Women's Clubs Associations Collection

Dates: 1902-1994   Collection number: MS 1   Creator: Netherland, Mary C.   Creator: Dixon, Lillian   Collection Size: 2.5 ft. (5 boxes)   Guide to the Colored Women's Clubs Associations Collection Available at the African American Museum & Library at Oakland (AAMLO) View online items The records included within this collection trace the histories of three different associations of colored women's clubs: the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs; the California State Association of Colored Women's Clubs; and the National Council of Negro Women. Records within this collection document the history, organization, and activities of the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs, the California State Association of Colored Women's Clubs, and the National Council of Negro Women. 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.

Harris (Charlotte) Papers

Dates: 1929-1988   Collection number: MS 16   Collection Size: .25 linear feet (1 box)   Guide to the Charlotte Harris Papers Available at the African American Museum & Library at Oakland (AAMLO) The Charlotte Harris Papers include photographs, postcards, church programs, and awards related to the activities of the Harris and Fletcher families. The bulk of the collection is photographs of family and friends of Charlotte Harris in Seattle, Washington and Berkeley, California. There are also group photographs of the Ladies of Leisure, an African American women's social club in Berkeley, California. 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.

Isaacs (Clarice) Papers

The Clarice Isaacs papers include assorted letters, thank you cards, and postcards from family and friends of Clarice Isaacs and two plaques awarded to Isaacs from the Circle of Positive Women and the YMCA Century Club. Dates: 1942-1987   Collection number: MS 101   Creator: Isaacs, Clarice   Collection Size: .25 linear feet (1 box)   Guide to the Clarice Isaacs 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.

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.

Ladies' Relief Society collection, 1883-1972

(OHC COLL 2021-2) 2 boxes (1.5 linear feet) Browse a detailed list of this collection's contents.  Available at Oakland History Center, Main Library.   The Ladies' Relief Society of Oakland, California was incorporated in 1872 to provide relief to destitute women and children. The society organized annual festivals to raise funds and attract donors, and over the years established a home for aged women, and children's home and nursery. Renamed the Ladies' Home Society in 1956, the society disbanded in 2007. The focus of the collection is the society's children's home, and includes a logbook  documenting admissions to the children's home from 1890 to 1913. Also included in the collection is a children's home visitors register (1883-1909) and a scrapbook of newspaper clippings about the Ladies' Relief Society (1915-1932, 1955-1972).  

Leisure Arts Club Scrapbook

Dates: 1941-1975   Collection number: MS 12   Creator: Leisure Arts Club   Collection Size: .2 linear feet (1 oversized volume)   Guide to the Leisure Arts Club Scrapbook Available at the African American Museum & Library at Oakland (AAMLO) The Leisure Arts Club was founded on January 31, 1941 at the home of Althea Clark. Its purpose, as outlined in its constitution, was to develop self culture, to study the arts, to do charitable work, and to cooperate with groups interested in racial betterment.   The collection consists of one scrapbook which documents the club's activities between 1941 and 1962. It includes a copy of the club's constitution and by-laws, as ratified in 1947, as well as minutes from the first few meetings after its formation in 1941. In addition, the scrapbook encompasses guest registers and invitations, correspondence, clippings, and programs documenting the club's work with charities, its musical and social events, and its affiliation with the California State Association of Colored Women's Clubs. 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.

Magruder (Sylvia Anna) Papers

Dates: 1885-1964   Collection number: MS 59   Creator: Magruder, Sylvia Anna.   Collection Size: .25 linear feet (1 box)   Guide to the Sylvia Anna Magruder Papers Available at the African American Museum & Library at Oakland (AAMLO) Sylvia Anna Magruder (née Duncan) was born on July 1, 1880 in New Orleans, Louisiana the youngest daughter of Rev. Stephen Duncan and Sylvia Duncan. She graduated from New Orleans University and worked as a teacher and matron for ten years before marrying Rev. E.J. Magruder in 1908. The couple moved to California the following year, and in 1926 E.J. Magruder was appointed as the pastor at the First A.M.E. Church in San Francisco, California. Sylvia Anna Magruder served various civic and religious organizations in the San Francisco area, including the Y' Women of the San Francisco Buchanan St. YWCA and Woman's Home and Foreign Missionary Society of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. She also worked for African American civil rights and advocated the hiring of the city’s first African American railway conductor, police officer, and social worker. The Sylvia Anna Magruder Papers include correspondence, certificates, funeral and musical programs, newspaper clippings, and photographs documenting the life and volunteer activities of Sylvia Anna Magruder. The papers are arranged into two series: biographical material and photographs. Biographical material include correspondence from politicians and civic organizations thanking Magruder for her volunteer work, certificates from the Woman's Home and Foreign Missionary Society of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, funeral and musical programs, and assorted newspaper clippings. Photographs in the collection are mostly portraits of Sylvia Anna Magruder and members of the Duncan family, photographs taken at Sylvia Anna Magruder’s birthday celebrations, and photographs related to Magruder's participation in the YWCA and Woman's Home and Foreign Missionary Society of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. 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.

Minnie Faegre Knox papers, 1916-1974

(OHC MSS KNOX) 10 folders (.3 linear feet) Go here for a more detailed list of this collection's contents.  Available at Oakland History Center, Main Library.  Letters to and from Minnie Knox, mostly discussing the publication of her poetry, as well as programs, bulletins, and speeches relating to her involvement in several local clubs, articles, short stories, poetry, speeches and address by Minnie Knox, and some photographs of her, including portraits and images from Poets' Dinners and other events. California Writers' Club materials are primarily issues of their monthly Bulletin while those of the College Women's Club relate primarily to addresses she gave at their 30th and 50th anniversary dinners. The Poets' Dinner materials consist primarily of place cards, place card rhymes, and typescript copies of the "coronation" speeches given by Minnie Knox over the years. Several of the speeches and addresses relate to her involvement with the American Legion and Daughters of the American Revolution. Poet Minnie Faegre Knox was born on April 20, 1886, in Flandreau, South Dakota, and received her post-secondary education at the University of Minnesota (graduating in 1908). She married Walter K. Knox 1909 and they eventually settled in Oakland, California, where she wrote poems and plays and joined clubs in the area. Minnie Knox was an editor of the California Writers' Club and a member of the College Woman's Club of Berkeley and the Daughters of the American Revolution, among other organizations. She died on December 12, 1980, at age ninety-four and is buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, California.

Oakland Post Photograph Collection

Dates: 1922-2005   Bulk Dates: 1963-1996   Collection number: MS 169   Creator: Oakland post.   Collection Size: 56 linear feet (116 boxes + 1 oversized box)   Guide to the Oakland Post Photograph Collection Available at the African American Museum & Library at Oakland (AAMLO) The Oakland Post Photograph Collection consists of 11,000 photographs appearing in the Oakland Post newspaper between 1963-2005. A majority of the photographs are portraits of African American politicians, business and community leaders, entertainers, athletes, and community and social groups from Oakland, California. The collection documents significant social and political events in Oakland, California, including social protest movements during the 1960s-1980s, festivals and sporting events, visits to Oakland, California by notable figures such as Nelson Mandela and Bill Clinton, and activities of Oakland politicians. 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.

Par-Links Golf Club Scrapbook

Dates: 1958-1963, 1991   Collection number: MS 214   Creator: Par-Links Golf Club.   Collection Size: .25 linear feet (1 box)   Guide to the Par-Links Golf Club Scrapbook Available at the African American Museum & Library at Oakland (AAMLO) The Par-Links Golf Club was founded by fifteen African-American women golfers of the East Bay on September 12, 1958. The collection consists of one scrapbook documenting the first six years of the club’s existence from 1958-1963. It encompasses the bylaws of the Par-Links Golf Club, tournament committee reports, an application for membership form, a history of the organization, newspaper clippings, two studio photographs of the charter members, and nineteen photographs of the club participating in a golf tournament. 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.

Phyllis Wheatley Club of the East Bay Records

Dates: 1935-1995   Collection number: MS 147   Creator: Phyllis Wheatley Club of the East Bay   Collection Size: 2.5 linear feet (3 boxes + 1 oversized)   Guide to the Phyllis Wheatley Club of the East Bay Records Available at the African American Museum & Library at Oakland (AAMLO) Named after African American poet Phillis Wheatley (c.1754 – 1784), the Phyllis Wheatley Club of the East Bay was founded in 1914 by Mrs. Fred Williams and Hettie B. Tilghman. The original intent of the club was to cultivate young black women and encourage their contributions to the community. Over the next two decades, it quickly became a charitable organization focused on fundraising efforts that supported local organizations, community services, and programs in the East Bay. The Phyllis Wheatley Club of the East Bay Collection includes administrative records, correspondence, event invitations and programs. Administrative records consist of the club’s constitution and by-laws, meeting minutes and financial ledgers. 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.

Pittman (Tarea Hall and William) Papers

Dates: 1869-1992   Bulk Dates: 1917-1992   Collection number: MS 46   Creator: Pittman, Tarea Hall.   Creator: Pittman, William.   Collection Size: 12.25 linear feet (29 boxes + 1 oversized box)   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. 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.

Woods (Earline) Photograph Collection

Dates: circa 1917-1985   Collection number: MS 125   Creator: Woods, Earline.   Collection Size: .25 linear feet (1 box)   Guide to the Earline Woods Photograph Collection Available at the African American Museum & Library at Oakland (AAMLO) The Earline Woods photograph collection consists of 58 photographs of African American churches, families, and civic organizations in Sacramento, California. The collection is organized into four subseries: family photographs, Sacramento churches, Women's Civic Improvement Club of Sacramento, and Assorted. The family photographs subseries consists of portraits of relatives of Earline Woods from the Smith and Grey families of Sacramento, California. Church photographs include photographs of the congregations and choirs at St. Andrews A.M.E., Kyle A.M.E., and Shiloh Baptist churches in Sacramento, California. The collection also includes five photographs of members attending events of the Women's Civic Improvement Club of Sacramento. 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.

Young Women's Christian Association Collection

Dates: 1919-1977   Creator: East Bay Negro Historical Society.   Collection Size: .25 linear feet (1 box)   Guide to the Young Women's Christian Association Collection Available at the African American Museum & Library at Oakland (AAMLO) View online items The Young Women's Christian Association Collection consists of correspondence, event invitations and programs, meeting minutes, constitution and by-laws, and publications of the Young Women's Christian Association of Oakland collected by the East Bay Negro Historical Society. The collection is organized into two series: YWCA of Oakland and Assorted national YWCA publications. The bulk of the YWCA of Oakland series is administrative records of the Linden St. and Market St. branches of the YWCA of Oakland, the two black branches of the YWCA in Oakland, California. The administrative records include the Linden St. branch constitution and by-laws, meeting minutes, and programs and invitation to events held at the Linden St. branch. Publications include a transcript of a 1934 speech delivered by Ernestine Bryant, “The architectural mode of life” and YWCA of Oakland reports and newsletters. The assorted national YWCA publications series includes a March 1960 edition of the The Phyllis Wheatley Reporter newsletter and a 1949 YWCA pamphlet, Interracial policies of the Young Women’s Christian Associations of the United States of America. 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