Posted on February 15, 2018 by Dorothy Lazard

Lifting as They Climbed: Making a Home for African American Seniors

African Americans worked to feed, clothe, and house their seniors in early Oakland.

The forgotten community of Beulah was a district of large, beautiful homes, many of which provided social services to the orphaned, poor and elderly. It was located in what is now East Oakland, just north and east of Mills College. One of Beulah’s most prominent institutions at the turn of the 20th century was the Home for Aged and Infirm Colored People. Retirement homes at the time were racially segregated, accepting whites only, so Oakland’s African American civic and religious leaders came together to establish a home for its seniors and aged homeless.

The Old Peoples Home Association incorporated in 1892 for the purpose of building such a home. Its founding board included several prominent Oakland-based African American women such as Hettie Tilghman, Julia Shorey (shown here with her family), Harriet E. Smith, Ann S. Purnell, and Mary C. Washington. This early board of directors—and those who followed them—sponsored festivals, dances, and concerts to raise

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Posted on February 7, 2018 by Dorothy Lazard

African Americans Establish a Growing Community in Early Oakland

In honor of Black History Month we celebrate Oakland's pioneering African Americans.

For most of us, the story of African Americans in Oakland begins with the westward migration during World War II. And while that is an amazing history, the story really began nearly 100 years before when Oakland was little more than dirt roads and clapboard buildings. The original town ran along 14th Street over to the estuary, from the tidal slough we know as Lake Merritt to West Street.

The same dreams of personal and economic freedoms that brought whites west drew African Americans to the state. They had come to California to start new lives unharnessed by tradition and restriction. They had come in search of gold. They had come accompanying slave masters. They had come to set down new roots. The first East Bay census, taken in 1852 when the city was founded, recorded that five African American men and one African American woman, and eight foreign-born African American men lived in Oakland. In those early days, African Americans in Oakland worked as sailors, laborers, draymen, barbers, maids, dressmakers, railroad porters, hotel workers, cooks, and waiters.

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Posted on January 18, 2018 by Emily Weak

OPL Responds: A Booklist for the 2018 Women's March

Need some reading to go with all that marching? OPL has lots of great books on topics such as suffrage, civic engagement, dissenting women, and women in politics.

Saturday, January 20th will be the second annual Oakland Women's March.

Last year the Mercury News reported that 100,000 people marched here in Oakland. The route goes right by the Main library! We hope to have power restored and be open. If you are planning to visit the library on Saturday, please be aware that parking, and even walking, in the area may be difficult. If we are not open, we will have a table outside the library where you can pick up booklists, flyers, and even do a fun craft.

If you're marching (or if you're interested in reading more about issues being highlighted by the march) we've pulled together some books you might want to take a look at. 

Suffrage

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Posted on January 4, 2018 by Emily Weak

OPL Responds: The Legalization of Recreational Cannabis Use

Prop 64 is in Effect, Smoke ‘Em if You Got ‘Em

Recreational cannabis use is now legal in the state of California!

But what does that really mean?

Oakland librarians are happy to answer your reference questions, or you can go directly to some of these sources:

Curious about the specifics of legality? Need health information?

Let’s Talk Cannabis

The California Department of Public Health shares science-based information about cannabis and how it affects our bodies, minds and health. It also provides quick bulleted info about the new law:

  • Under California law, adults 21 or older can use, carry, and grow cannabis (marijuana, weed, pot).
  • Buying cannabis (without a

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Posted on December 13, 2017 by Camille Peters

Music Survey Extended!

One more week to fill out the OPL Survey on Listening to Music, and one more week to win prizes.

The OPL Survey on Listening to Music, originally slated to close on December 6, has been extended to December 20.

That's right -- you still have one more week to tell us what you'd like to see in the music collection. You can find the survey online: http://oaklandlibrary.org/music-survey or at your local library branch. Copies in Spanish and Chinese are also available at all branches.

Raffle extended too, with one exception...

One of the prizes in the raffle is for tickets to a show that occurs before the extended deadline. The tickets to see FKJ at the Fox Theater on 12/15 will be raffled off today at 6:00 PM. Anyone who has completed the survey by that time -- and included their name and phone number -- will be eligible to win.

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Posted on November 23, 2017 by Ajoke Kokodoko

Celebrating Oakland’s Rich Cultural Arts: The Legacy of the Malonga Casquelourd Center

Celebrating Oakland's Rich Multicultural Arts: The Legacy of the Malonga Casquelourd Center

 

Come to the Oakland Public Library Main now until December 1 to “Give Praise to Life”.  The event features:

The Malonga Center Community Ancestral Installation - If you have never been to “the Malonga” you’re missing out on a historical Oakland jewel. Since the 1920s, this grand building has been the go to place for theatre, special events, multicultural arts, classes and more.  Check out their website http://mccatheater.com/

                     

The Malonga Center, formerly known as the Alice Arts Center, was renamed for renowned African choreographer, dancer, musician, singer,

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Posted on November 8, 2017 by Camille Peters

A Music Survey -- with Prizes!

Help us serve you better by filling out a short music survey, and you'll be eligible to win tickets from local venues.

Blues or bluegrass? Jazz or folk? Streaming, vinyl, CDs ... or cassettes? What are your favorite kinds of music, and how do you listen to them?

We'd like to know more about your listening habits to ensure that our music collection meets your needs. That's why we've created a short survey on listening to music, whether live or recorded. Please take the survey to let us know what you're listening to and how:

http://www.oaklandlibrary.org/music-survey

Rather write than type? Paper copies are coming to a library near you.

Did you say prizes?

Everyone who completes the survey will be eligible to enter a raffle. Just fill in your name and phone number at the end of the survey to enter. The results will be tallied anonymously, and your information will not be shared.

The raffle is optional, but the prizes are pretty enticing. You could win:

  • A $75 ticket voucher from

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Posted on November 8, 2017 by Emily Weak

Books about Veterans and their Families

A booklist from The Oakland Public Library’s Veterans Center Resource Collection

Did you know the Oakland Public Library has a Veterans Center?

It is located in the lobby of the Main Library. Trained staff or volunteers are often available to help veterans and family members learn about benefits for education, health, employment, housing, and more. There is also a collection of books. They can be checked out from the Veterans Center anytime the library is open or can be delivered to any branch by placing a hold.

You can pick up a paper copy of this list in the Veterans Center, as well as at branch libraries.  

Careers, Benefits and More: The Business of Becoming a Civilian

Cover of Best Careers book      Cover of Military Guide      

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Posted on October 10, 2017 by Kathleen DiGiovanni

Mysterious Thelonious: Monk turns 100

Celebrate the 100th birthday of Thelonious Monk by listening, watching, reading, and playing.

Posted by Camille Peters

Thelonious Monk at the pianoThelonious Sphere Monk is of those rare public figures who is recognizable by silhouette alone. Elements of his trademark style are captured on the 1964 cover of Time magazine featuring Monk: the hat, the beard curling to a point. That Monk is one of only a handful of jazz musicians to ever appear on the cover of Time is a measure of his importance in jazz history.

Today marks the centennial for Monk, a pianist and composer with a reputation for originality and eccentricity. Born on October 10, 1917, Monk got his start as a performer in the early 1940s. He was the house pianist at Minton's Playhouse in Harlem

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Posted on September 27, 2017 by Dorothy Lazard

James Baldwin and "The Price of the Ticket"

Writer James Baldwin's fiery prose and sharp critiques on American society resonate 30 years after his death

"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”

--James Baldwin from "As Much Truth As One Can Bear" in The Cross of Redemption: Uncollected Writings 

James Baldwin was living comfortably and productively in France as a successful expatriate writer when the American Civil Rights Movement kicked into high gear in the early 1960s. Spurred by the violent repression of peaceful demonstrations, racial violence, and widespread job and housing discrimination in America, he returned home to witness for himself what was tearing America apart. He traveled throughout the country to engage student activists, religious and community leaders, and politicians to hear what they thought about the turbulent state of affairs. Most notably, Baldwin used his fame as a celebrated writer to speak out about racism and its corrosive effect on both its victims and perpetrators. It was during these years that he wrote one of his most famous works, "

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