Inspiration

Portrait of the Rousseau Family with musical instruments: ‘The World Famous Rousseau Family,' circa 1920s, Rousseau family papers, MS 44, African American Museum & Library at Oakland.

African Americans and the Arts in Oakland

Study Guides

Special Collections

Special Collections

Slim Jenkins' Liqour Store, Cocktail Lounge, and Coffee Shop corner building

E. F. Joseph Photograph Collection

Photographer Emmanuel Francis (E. F.) Joseph (1900-1979) was born on November 8, 1900 in St. Lucia, West Indies.

Ruth Beckford Papers

Ruth Beckford dances on a hillside in a white head scarf and dress

Beckford (Ruth) Papers

The Ruth Beckford Papers include dance programs, correspondence, lesson plans, oral histories, manuscripts, newspapers, and photographs.

Henry Williams Jr. Film Collection

Free the Black Panthers protest march Oakland, California

Williams (Henry) Jr. Film Collection

Films and reel-to-reel audiotapes mostly documenting the Black Panther Party and student and union protest movements of the late 1960s.

Black Panther Community News Service Collection

Front page of the Black Panther newspaper with photo of Huey P. Newton and headline reading Huey Must Be Set Free

Black Panther Community News Service Collection

214 newspapers published by the Black Panther Party between 1967-1976 and includes a commemorative edition published in the Spring of 1991.

Oakland History Center has a wealth of resources available featuring Black artists, poets, musicians, and entertainers including artwork featured in the Black Panther Intercommunal News Service by Emory Douglas and Tarika Lewis.

Oakland History Center Video Archives

Oakland History Center Video Archives (Calisphere)

Browse video archives from the Oakland History Center on Calisphere.

Oakland Tribune Archive

Oakland Tribune Archive

Full-text of articles since September 14, 2001.

Laney College collection, 1980-2000

Ghanian dance performance at Laney College, possibly part of the musical group Adadam Agofomma, circa 1976.

Laney College collection, 1980-2000

Announcements, newsletters, press releases, schedules, and photographs from Laney College.

Black Filmmakers's Hall of Fame collection

Program from the 14th Annual Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame's Oscar Micheaux Awards ceremony, 1987.

Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame collection, 1974-2015

Programs, promotional materials, articles and other documents from and about the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame.

News, Blogs, Videos

Emory Douglas back cover, vol. IV no. 22, Black Panther Black Community News Service collection, MS 178, African American Museum & Library at Oakland, Oakland Public Library.

Black Arts Movement

Alice Arts Mural

The Black Arts Movement in Oakland and Berkeley

The Black Arts Movement was a vibrantly creative period that has had a lasting cultural impact on the East Bay.

Boogaloo Originals

The Black Resurgents perform on the Jay Payton Show

Boogaloo Originals

Now in their 50th year, the Black Resurgents are helping keep the Oakland boogaloo spirit alive.

Black Matters

Black Matters: the world of Afrofuturism

Local exhibits, lectures, and film festivals celebrate the cultural movement of Afrofuturism.

E. J. (Evangeline) Montgomery

E.J. (Evangeline) Montgomery

The African American Museum & Library at Oakland celebrates an arts champion.

Evolutionary Blues

Evolutionary Blues: West Oakland’s Music Legacy

Staff at the African American Museum and Library at Oakland share stories and information about West Oakland's Music Legacy.

The Jay Payton Show

The Jay Payton Show: Oakland’s Own Soul Train

The African American Museum & Library at Oakland is working to preserve Oakland's music heritage.

African Americans Music History

Musicians Bob Lewis (bass), Norvell Randell (piano), Eric Miller (guitar)on stage at Slim Jenkins Bar and Restaurant Oakland, California

African American Music History

Collections focused on music from our Archives and Library. African Americans in the Art of Music

Rapper and Pianist Kev Choice

Rapper and Pianist Kev Choice Makes Music to Heal Oakland

Video from KQED Arts: Rapper and Pianist Kev Choice Makes Music to Heal Oakland—and Himself

Nijla Mu'min

Nijla Mu'min Brings Black Muslim Coming-of-Age Story to Film

KQED Arts video on Nijla Mu'min Brings Black Muslim Coming-of-Age Story to Big Screen

That's My Word

(KQED) That's My Word

A Year-Long Exploration of Bay Area Hip-Hop History

Black Love and Hip Hop

Black Love and Hip Hop Heal an Oakland Community's Pain

Watch members of SOL Development as they embody a new vision for how art and music reflect a community’s pain and work to heal its traumas.
Whittier School student viewing Marie Johnson's Dream deferred, a construction in mixed media at New Perspectives in Black Art show at Oakland's Kaiser Center gallery, Oakland Post Photograph collection, MS 169, African American Museum & Library at Oakland, Oakland Public Library.

"Black Art was her language"

“Black Art was her language”

East Bay Yesterday podcast interview with Babette Thomas about the history of California Black Arts and her "Raw Material" podcast.

Raw Material Podcast

Raw Material Podcast - Produced by Babette Thomas

Podcaster-in-residence Babette Thomas leads listeners on a journey of Black ideas, surfacing voices of Black Bay Area art history pioneers.

On Visions of Black Futurity

On Visions of Black Futurity

Babette Thomas discussing her project "On “Visions of Black Futurity” looking at the work of E.J. Montgomery and the Black Arts Movement.
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