C. L. DELLUMS COLLECTION

Cottrell Lawrence Dellums was the primary West Coast Regional official of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters Union and the first Chairman of the California Fair Employment Practices Commission. As one who was very close to A. Philip Randolph, Dellums was very important in bringing about change. This collection documents by correspondence between Dellums and other officials of the Sleeping Car Porters Union relating the many struggles for recognition, contract negotiations, and threatened strikes. Dellums was also active in the NAACP and the correspondence ephemera resulting from his many years in the organization are included. Much of Dellum's personal and business correspondence, photographs of Dellum's union activities, plus photographs of Dellums as a young man are also part of the collection.

ANNETTE STARR BRUCE HUDSON COLLECTION

This collection of artifacts, letters, photographs, books, pamphlets, ephemera, and other paper materials documents the creation and evolution of Annette's School of Charm. It contains letters from students and public officials. Covering the 1920's through the 1970's in Oakland, it also contains photographs and ephemera relating to Henry Starr, singer and entertainer through the 1920's through the 1970's. It is one of the largest collection of E.F. Joseph's black and white photographs from the period.

FREDERICK MADISON ROBERTS COLLECTION

A collection of letters, photographs, and artifacts documenting the life of an African American political figure from his period of ascendance in the early twentieth century until his death in 1952. Frederick M. Roberts was the first black elected to the California legislature in 1916. He was a successful mortician and newspaper man as well. He is descended from Sally Hemmings, the reported mistress of Thomas Jefferson. Pearl Hinds, the wife of Frederick M. Roberts, is also documented in the collection which describes her family's early pioneering activities in California ranching in the 19th century through her death in the 1980's. Pearl Roberts was an accomplished musician in her own right and the collection contains programs of her recitals and musicals.

MORRIE TURNER COLLECTION

A collection of cartoon cells, letters, books, calendars, and photographs which document the growth of Morrie Turner as a youth in Oakland who later joined the U.S. Army and became a cartoonist. Contains letters from his publisher, photographs of Morrie growing up, members of his family and friends. Also contains images of Turner with other cartoonist colleagues and local celebrities.

ROYAL TOWNS COLLECTION

Royal Towns was descended from an early pioneering Bay Area family. He was one of the earliest blacks to become part of the Oakland Fire Department. The collection is made a part of the earlier photograph collection which he apparently inherited from his father. This collection contains cabinet photographs, daguerreotypes, tin-types, cartes de visite, and late 19th century photographs of members of his family and others, many of whom are not identified. Royal Towns was an avid photographer who also documented his experiences with the Oakland Fire Department. Towns also photographed the black fire fighters and left a photographic record of the members.

PHIL READER SANTA CRUZ COLLECTION: 325 ITEMS

This collection documents by photocopies of newspaper articles and other public records the presence and activities of African Americans in Santa Cruz from the 1850's until the middle of the 1920's. Phil Reader is an independent researcher who has done all of the work himself and put together the entire collection.

EUDORA PROCTOR COLLECTION

Eudora Proctor was raised in Oakland during the 1920's and became a dancer who travelled over the world in the USO during the Second World War. When she returned to the U.S. she taught dancing, and later opened a beauty parlor. All of her life is documented here with the exception of the early period during the 1920's and 1930's. She has made extraordinary efforts to document her life by writing and audio tapes. The collection contains photographs, snapshots, clippings, handbills, professional licenses, letters, artifacts, and other ephemera.

SLIM JENKINS COLLECTION

This collection documents photographically the period of the 1940's and 1950's of Harold Slim Jenkins, who owned the premier night spot in Oakland along the 7th Street Strip. Most of the photographs show the inside of the night club, the entertainers who performed there, and some exterior views in promotional material of the operation. Most of the photographs are by E.F. Joseph and are in black and white. This is an important collection in that images of the night club are difficult to find.

VIRNA CANSON COLLECTION

Virna Canson was one of the important officials in the NAACP in Northern California. From her Sacramento base, Ms. Canson was also a leader in the Credit Union movement in the early 1950's. Always a civil rights activist, Virna Canson's collection includes photographs, documents, letters, ephemera and other effects of her career in the NAACP. This collection includes a rare Masonic ritual sword.

CALIFORNIA FEDERATION OF COLORED WOMEN'S CLUBS COLLECTION

This collection of photographs, documents, letters, meeting records, minutes, memos, programs and other ephemera covers the activities of a wide range of Colored Women's Clubs in California. Materials which document the Fanny Wall Children's Home, the Home for Aged and Infirm Colored People and other civic and charitable organizations are found in this collection. Club bylaws of some clubs plus records of dues activities, correspondence and other club matters. Also found here are the papers of a few local women who were officers in Colored Women's clubs.

NAACP COLLECTION

The NAACP collection is a small but growing collection of materials which are mostly ephemeral but reflect the activities of the local branches of the organization. Included are some letters, pamphlets, booklets, and a few rosters from the Oakland and Berkeley branches of the organization. There are also programs from social and fund-raising activities. This collection contains no photographs, but photographs which document NAACP activities are found in the general collection.

HACKETT FAMILY COLLECTION

The Hackett Family emigrated to the Bay Area in 1888. The daughter of Sylvester Hackett became the first curator of the African American Museum and Library at Oakland. This collection documents photographically the members of the family primarily by portraits. The documents are few, but the portraits of the family well document and identify all members. This collection is representative of middle class families of this era.

JESSE AND MARCELLA FORD COLLECTION

Jesse Ford was a Pullman Sleeping Car Porter and his wife, Marcella, was an educator, civil rights activist and club woman. This collection is rich in the ephemera of the Pullman Company, including books, pamphlets, union materials, contracts, and some forms and correspondence arising from his employment at the railroad. This collection also includes instruction books for Pullman Porters and Mr. Ford's Masonic materials.

ARNOLD BARANCO COLLECTION

Arnold Baranco was a singer with a trained voice who took over as director of the Keeton Chorus after the death of Elmer Keeton. The photographs and ephemera such as programs for various musicals events document the years of the depression and the Second World War through the activities of a musician. Baranco was in the army as director of the Glee Club at Fort Huachuka, Arizona where black troops were trained. Also included in the collection are his report cards, high school year book, and other materials documenting his youth in Oakland.

IDA JACKSON COLLECTION

As the first black public school teacher hired by the city of Oakland in 1926, Ida Jackson has been one of the best known local personalities. Her activities include a wide range of civic and social events. Included is her Master's Thesis, photographs of her friends and activities in Mississippi before coming to California and leisure activities of a middle class peer group during the 1920's and 1930's. In that Ms. Jackson founded the Rho Chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority in 1921 at U.C. Berkeley, much material is found of her activities in the sorority.

FRED BROWN COLLECTION

Fred Brown is descended from an early pioneering family in Marin County. This collection is of photographs which documents the leisure activities of a middle class black family during the late 19th and early 20th century. The collection includes rare images of William Nauns Ricks on picnics and enjoying other special and leisure activities with the family. The family had a ranch in Marin county, and some of the activities on the ranch are documented photographically.

HADWICK THOMPSON COLLECTION

Hadwick Thompson is descended from Alvin Coffey, the only African American officially registered in the Society of California Pioneers. Hadwick Thompson was one of the first civil servant police officers on the Oakland Police Department. This collection of photographs documents his activities as a policeman, his civic activities as a member of the Men of Tomorrow, and other civic organizations. The collection contains photographs of most of the descendants of Alvin Coffey through the present day.

VIRGINIA STEPHENS COLLECTION

Virginia Stephens was the daughter of the most successful restauranteur in Oakland during the 1920's and 1930's. She was the first black woman to graduate from U.C. Berkeley's Law School and was later employed by the California Legislature. The collection includes menus from Stephens Restaurant, photographs of early locations and photographs of William Stephens who had been Pullman Sleeping Car Porter. The collection is primarily photographic, but some ephemeral items such as correspondence and handbills are found. The collection also contains some biographical material.

MIRIAM MATTHEWS COLLECTION

Miriam Matthews was the first black librarian in the City of Los Angeles in the 1930s. She began decades ago to collect photographs and other materials which related to the African American experience in California. Miriam Matthews has one of the largest collections of California African American materials and has made an initial donation of these 126 B/W photographs of political figures in Los Angeles to form the basis of a larger collection which will be donated at a later time. The photographs are of Thomas Bradley, Mervyn Dymally, and others.

ALBERT DESHIELDS COLLECTION

Albert DeShields is descended from a pioneer who came to Oakland in the 1860s. The DeShields family established a distillery for eucalyptus oil and other patent health remedies. The collection contains many documents such as Deeds of Trust, tax receipts, correspondence, photographic, tin-types, cabinet photographs and some early photographic Cartes de Visite. Some of the images are unidentified, but for the most part the individuals are members of the DeShields family.

BLACKBURN FAMILY COLLECTION

Roy and Marie Blackburn are both descended from 19th century pioneering families in Oakland. Roy Blackburn was the personal secretary to Langston Hughes when Hughes was here in California. The Blackburn collection documents photographically Roy Blackburn's social activities, his wedding photographs, and his employment with the City of Oakland as a clerk in the Oakland Police Department. Little is contained of his wife Marie except for the wedding photographs.

AMANDA BROWN COLLECTION

Little is known of Amanda Brown. However, this collection of snapshots and photographs well documents a number of unknown individuals and interesting portraits from the 19th century through the 1940s. This collection reflects the apparel styles of the period.

JOSHUA ROSE COLLECTION

Joshua Rose was the first African American to sit on the Oakland CIty Council. The collection documents the political activities of Rose and his family, as well as documents by photograph and correspondence his activities in the YMCA before he became politically active. The photographic images also include his family.

WILLIAM BYRON RUMFORD COLLECTION

As the first African American elected from Nothern California to the California Legislature, William Byron Rumford had a tremendous impact on civil rights legislation. Containing mostly photographs, the collection shows Rumford in various stages of his career.

THE HALL FAMILY COLLECTION: FARACITA HALL (WYATT), MARCUS HALL TAREA HALL (PITTMAN)

These three collections are grouped together as they are from the same family. The Hall family came to Oakland from Bakersfield in the 1920s. They were all active in civil rights and local social groups. Marcus Hall was an internationally known tenor. Tarea Hall Pittman was perhaps the best known of the family because of her activism in civil rights and her local radio show. The collection contains photographs, musical programs, papers from various enterprises begun. Also found in the collection are certificates, awards, letters, and newspaper clippings. The three collections are combined into one holding. The materials document activities during the years of the Second World War through the 1980s.