African American Museum and Library at Oakland

The African American Museum and Library at Oakland (AAMLO) is a museum and non-circulating library dedicated to preserving African American history, experiences and culture on 14th Street in Downtown Oakland. It contains an extensive archival collection of such artifacts as diaries, correspondence, photos, and periodicals.[2]

Oakland Public Library
The African American Museum & Library at Oakland
African American Museum and Library
African American Museum and Library
African American Museum and Library
Location659 14th Street
Oakland, CA, U.S.
Coordinates37°48′22″N 122°16′35″W
Built1900
ArchitectWalter Danforth Bliss, William Baker Faville
Architectural styleBeaux Arts
NRHP reference No.83001173 [1]
ODL No.48
Significant dates
Added to NRHPAugust 11, 1983
Designated ODL1981

History

The AAMLO is located at what was the Carnegie library building which is now called the Charles A. Greene building. The building served as the Oakland Main Library from 1902 to 1951.[3]

The AAMLO began as a private collection in 1946, and in 1964 became the East Bay Negro Historical Society, Inc. It later changed its name to the Northern California Center for Afro-American History & Life, before being incorporated into the city of Oakland in 1994 under its current name, the African American Museum and Library at Oakland.

Among the more than 160 collections in the library are archives relating to Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, the Black Panthers, Africa, and genealogy. Materials include photographs, manuscripts, letters, diaries, newspapers, recorded oral histories, videos, and microfilms. AAMLO's two galleries host changing exhibitions of art, history, and culture.

AAMLO began as a private collection in 1946. Initially housed in a small shop front on Grove Street (now Martin Luther King, Jr. Way), the collection grew quickly and in 1960, moved into the Oakland Public Library's Golden Gate Branch. It officially became AAMLO, a public/private partnership, in 1994. AAMLO moved into its current location in 2002.[4]

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. "African American Museum & Library at Oakland | Oakland Public Library". www.oaklandlibrary.org. Retrieved 2019-05-18.
  3. https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/83001173_text
  4. "Discover AAMLO," a brochure of the facility, published by the Oakland Public Library.
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