African American History and Culture in the Bay Area
Featured Post
![Jumell Devaull shaking hands with PoPo the Clown at Children's Fairyland [ 2136 ] 1965-10-23](https://d4804za1f1gw.cloudfront.net/wp-content/mu-plugins/biblioweb/assets/images/placeholder/card_1_1.png)
Oakland History is Black History at Children's Fairyland
Children's Fairyland is celebrating Black History Month with a spectacular visual display.
Discover African American trailblazers who shaped local history and celebrate what it means being Black in the Bay today.
Read Articles By OPL Librarians
Articles by OPL librarians help you explore African American history, culture, and creativity from a contemporary perspective.
Articles
![Jumell Devaull shaking hands with PoPo the Clown at Children's Fairyland [ 2136 ] 1965-10-23](https://d4804za1f1gw.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/100/2023/01/Jumell-Devaull-shaking-hands-with-PoPo-the-Clown-at-Childrens-Fairyland-2136-1965-10-23-444x444.jpg?ver=230125224004)
Oakland History is Black History at Children's Fairyland
Children's Fairyland is celebrating Black History Month with a spectacular visual display.
Unsung Heroes that Helped Desegregate Public Libraries
A brief history of some of the people who fought to desegregate American Public Libraries.
![Martin Luther King Jr. talking with Roy Wilkins [part of N.A.A.C.P. San Francisco Convention collage]](https://d4804za1f1gw.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/100/2022/01/MS189_1854a-444x444.jpg?ver=231006200431)
Dr. King Visits Oakland
Remembering the 1957 and 1962 addresses of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered at the Oakland Auditorium.
Remembering the Fannie Wall Children’s Home
Marco Frazier reflects on the Fannie Wall Children's Home, a Bay Area institution for youth.
Recommended Reads on Black Experiences
OPL staff recommend memoirs, fiction, cookbooks, poetry, and more from African American authors.
Staff Lists
We Won't Go Back: Women Who Changed the World
Because we might need some extra inspiration right now.
Limited-Edition Library Card Reading List
Book recommendations for each theme of our 2023 library card art card contest. Get your new library card and check them out!
Lotería AfroLatina
Enjoy Librarian Pat's Afrolatine reading list and join her for Afro Loteria, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, 1:30pm at the 81st Avenue Branch.
19 for Juneteenth: Children's Literature
New picture books, board books, and juvenile non-fiction books about Juneteenth! (Sorted by publication date.)
New at OPL
Watch Original OPL Programs on African American Experiences
Enjoy videos of original OPL programs on a variety of topics covering African American history, arts, and culture.
Videos
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.
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.
Soiree AAMLO - An Evening of the Arts
In this online program from the African American Museum and Library at Oakland (AAMLO), we hear from Bay Area poets and musicians.
AAMLO Digital Underground
AAMLO Digital Underground
A collection of titles from OPL's African American Museum and Library that you can read on the go.
Related Pages
Behind the Book: Interview with Author Meikko Sheiree
We all love a good book but what does it take to publish one? Oakland author, Meikko, talks about her writing and publishing journey.
African American Perspectives
Gale In Context: African American Perspectives
Study the history of African Americans in the United States.
