OPL’s Century of Commemorations: Black History Month 2026

The theme for Black History Month 2026 is "A Century of Black History Commemorations," so let's look back at Oakland Public Library's early celebrations of Black History Month. 

In the library we've been celebrating Black History Month (and the earlier Negro History Week) since its inception in 1926. The first few years featured modest displays of books, photos, and other library materials.  

In the autumn of 1929 Delilah Beasley, pioneering Black journalist and "one of the library's constant users," suggested OPL publish a list of books written by Black authors. Librarian Josephine DeWitt (later Josephine DeWitt Rhodehamel) accepted the task, and embarked on an extensive survey of Black literature. By February 1930 she had created a list of over 100 titles on 10 full-size pages. The full list was posted on library bulletin boards near the display of books. Accompanying bookmarks with a shorter list of selections proved so popular that "at the end of two weeks every book that had been printed on the book marks the library gave away was reserved by some one who wanted to read a Negro book." A local men's club, the Acorn Club, were given a copy of the complete list to mimeograph and distribute widely. One of the Acorn Club's copies can be found in the Oakland History Center's OPL Archives. The bookmarks did not survive, perhaps due to their popularity. I've recreated much of the original 1930 list on our website, with links to items in OPL's collection and on the internet, although a few pieces were not available in either place. The website list is also limited to 100 items, while the original list had quite a few more, but I've done my best to include as much as possible to give you a look at what Black Studies looked like in 1930 Oakland. 

The full list in 1930 was divided into sections for novels, short stories, poems, miscellaneous literature, art, and music. It included books, articles and other writing published in magazines, and sheet music. Many of the selections have become classics, as many of the then-contemporary authors were prominent figures in the Harlem Renaissance. Others, only published in small magazines, have been more or less forgotten. 

The list was expanded and updated each year for over a decade, and there are several iterations in the OPL Archives. Although the list itself was a massive undertaking, it was only part of the celebration. The list accompanied a larger annual exhibit of books, photographs, and artwork at the Main Library. Parts of the exhibit also traveled to library branches, the Oakland Art Gallery, UC Berkeley's International House Auditorium, and the Linden Branch YWCA. Local artists contributed work to display as part of the exhibit. Notably Sargent Johnson lent his original artwork for display in 1935.

The exhibit and book list were extremely popular. Delilah Beasley, who had the original idea for the list, praised the library for its "spirit of cooperation between the races." The Oakland NAACP presented the library with a letter of thanks for their work. DeWitt herself called the task of creating the list "the most exciting and gratifying experience" in her library career. You can read more about the early celebrations, DeWitt's experience making the list, and the community's reactions below in DeWitt's article "Oakland Public Library and America's Tenth Man," originally printed in Pacific Bindery Talk, June 1936. Although much of the work on the exhibit fell to DeWitt, she did have help from others. The library's annual report from 1929-30 mentions that the booklist was the sole work of Miss DeWitt, but the exhibit was supported by the Circulation, Branch, and Pictures Departments. By 1939 Oakland's first Black librarian, Eleanor Watkins, was assisting with expanding the exhibit. DeWitt, however, remained OPL's expert on Black literature until her departure in 1953, heading the library's Negro History Week celebrations and giving presentations on the subject to numerous clubs, schools, and classes through the years.  

Delilah Beasley's "Activities Among Negroes" column described the first year OPL's Negro History Week (which notably extended for two weeks) was more than a small display, Oakland Tribune, April 13, 1930