Prepare for a visit to AAMLO with these special topic resource guides.
This resource guide is intended to help users locate holdings at AAMLO related to Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and Black communities. See also the resource guide on Seventh Street (Oakland, Calif.) for holdings related to BART's impact on West Oakland's Seventh Street.
It highlights holdings in the following areas:
● Selected Library Material at the Oakland Public Library
● Selected Archival Collections at AAMLO
Other collections may contain relevant materials. Please contact AAMLO (aamlo@oaklandlibrary.org) with any questions or to schedule an appointment to view materials in person.
Selected Library Materials
BART: The Dramatic History of the Bay Area Rapid Transit System / by Michael C. Healy
Black Power at Work: Community Control, Affirmative Action, and the Construction Industry / edited by David Goldberg and Trevor Griffey
American Babylon : Race and the Struggle for Postwar Oakland / by Robert O. Self
Freedom North : Black Freedom Struggles Outside the South, 1940-1980 / edited by Jeanne Theoharis and Komozi Woodard
Divided Loyalties: Whistle-blowing at BART / by Robert Morris Anderson
Mass Transit and the Politics of Technology: a Study of BART and the San Francisco Bay Area / by Stephen Zwerling
Public Report : Review of BART PD Policies, Practices and Procedures Re: New Year's Day 2009 / Meyers Nave (Firm)
Bay Area Underground : Photos of Protests and Social Movements, 2008-2012 / by Joe Sciarrillo
Welcome to the Neighborhood [Videorecording]
BART Impact : 5 Oakland Station Areas (1969) / a Report of the 701 Program of the City of Oakland
Alternatives for a Study of the BART Station Area (1974) / Oakland City Planning Dept
A History of the Key Decisions in the Development of Bay Area Rapid Transit (1976) / by McDonald & Smart
The Special Study of Ethnic Minorities in the BART Impact Program (1976) / U.S. Department of Transportation
BART Impacts on Travel by Ethnic Minorities (1977) / Metropolitan Transportation Commission
BART in the San Francisco Bay Area : Summary of the Final Report of the BART Impact Program (1979) / Metropolitan Transportation Commission
Implications of BART's Impacts for the Transportation Disadvantaged (1979) / U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development
Land Use and Urban Development Impacts of BART (1979) / U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development
Impacts of BART on Bay Area Institutions and Life Styles (1980) / U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development
Selected Archival Collections
The Flatlands Newspaper Collection. The Flatlands newspaper was an independent newspaper printed in Oakland from 1966-1968[?] and focused on issues related to poverty, education, housing, police brutality, and politics in East and West Oakland. The newspaper’s slogan was “tell it like it is and do what is needed” and advocated for government accountability and reform for those affected and displaced by housing developments and Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART). The newspaper’s staff included Alexandra Close and Darrow Bishop, a staff photographer, Lynn Phipps, and a 14 person editorial board of Curtis Lee Baker, Vera Bumcrot, Mark Comfort, Gloria Comfort, Urban Dennis, Gene Drew, Bill Goetz, Pauline Goetz, John George, Bill Lowe, Jerry Leo, Jack Ortega, Agnes Woods, and Ralph Williams. During its publication, The Flatlands served as the voice of the activist group Justice on Bay Area Rapid Transit (JOBART). When Governor Pat Brown visited Oakland in 1966, JOBART demonstrators led by The Flatlands editor Curtis Lee Baker presented him with the group’s demands on behalf of residents affected by BART construction. The newspaper also closely reported on the activities of BART and the Richmond City Council regarding construction of the Richmond Wall. [View online]
W. Hazaiah Williams Papers. Includes photographs of theologian, civil rights activist, and educator William Hazaiah Williams Jr. (1930-1999) speaking at the June 5, 1966 March for Jobs and BART rally sponsored by Justice on Bay Area Rapid Transit (JOBART). JOBART was established in 1966 by co-chair Tom Fike to protest hiring practices of the Bay Area Rapid Transit Distrcit. Negotiations focused on recruitment of BART employees from the transit district to include "signification numbers of minority group members." At the rally, Rev. Willliams charged BART with "perpetuating schemes of segregation and discrimination." Other speakers at the June 5, 1966 rally included Elijah Turner, neighborhood organizer for the Fruitvale area Council for Social Planning, Eugene Drew and Benjamin Lusk of the JOBART political committee, the Rev. Amos Cambric Jr. of Downs Memorial Methodist Church, James Vann of Richmond CORE, and the Rev. Thomas L. White, co-chairman of JOBART and executive secretary of the East Bay Conference on Religion and Race. In 1967, BART agreed to an affirmative action program designed to serve as a model for other federally financed projects.
Oakland Post Photograph Collection. Photographs appearing in the Oakland Post newspaper between 1963-2005 depict views of BART lines and stations under construction, passengers using the service, BART Board of Directors and board members, BART police officers, and assorted other BART-related images. Also included are nine photographs of Justice on Bay Area Rapid Transit (JOBART) meetings, circa 1960s.
Charlesetta Braggs-Ford Papers. The papers of civil rights activist Charlesetta Braggs-Ford include Richmond CORE's copy of a flyer for the June 5, 1966 March for Jobs: Justice on Bay Area Rapid Transit (JOBART) rally.
Robert B. Pitts Papers. The files of first regional administrator of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development Robert B. Pitts (1909-1982) include reports on "The Cultural and ethnic impacts of BART-induced land use change" and “Request for proposal implications for the transportation disadvantaged project of the BART Impact Program" (circa 1970s).
Hadwick Thompson Papers. After retirement from the City of Oakland Police Department in 1973, Hadwick A. Thompson (1919-2002) continued to work as a police officer with the BART police force until 1992.
Benjamin V. Williams Papers. Includes photographs of journalist and television reporter Benjamin Vernon Williams (1927-2012) interviewing workers on BART's Transbay Tube construction, circa 1960s.
Elihu M. Harris Papers. Includes an undated analysis report on the MacArthur BART station and subject files on the MacArthur BART area planning process (1995) and BART extensions (undated).
Ronald V. Dellums Congressional Papers. Includes subject files related to various BART issues during Dellums' 27-year congressional career.
Barbara Lee Papers. Includes Congressmember Lee's subject files related to BART strikes and the BART airport connector project (undated).
Oakland Black Cowboy Association Records. The records of the Oakland Black Cowboy Association include assorted material related to BART Employees Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Commemoration Committee programs.
Joshua Rose Papers. Includes a 1969 photograph of Oakland City Council member Joshua Rose (1906-1987) standing under the BART Transbay Tube.
Additional Information
Search the library using the catalog.
Consult AAMLO's finding aids in the Online Archive of California.
We are working to create new resource guides. Have an idea for a new guide? Contact us at aamlo@oaklandlibrary.org.
