Sac History Happenings: Two valuable sites for California black history study

Sac History Happenings

News and developments in Sacramento and California history

February 29, 2012

Two valuable sites for California black history study

As Black History Month comes to an end, I ought to mention two valuable online resources for students of California African American history.

The first is African Americans in California, a comprehensive timeline prepared by the Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley. It begins way back in 1781 (when 46 individuals -- 26 or whom were black or mulatto -- first settled Los Angeles) and proceeds through the Spanish Period (1769-1821), the Mexican Period (1821-1848) and the U.S. Era (1850-present).

Second is Calisphere, a digitized repository of California-related photographs, documents, artworks and other artifacts that includes a themed collection on the state's African Americans. The images and narrative are organized in chronological sections: Gold Rush Era to 1900; the Struggle for Economic Equality (1900-1950s); Community Life (1950s-1980s); Politics and Community (1970s-present); Civil Rights and Social Reform (1950s-1970s). There are also links to material dedicated to important people and events in California black history.

Incidentally, The Bee recently posted its own photo gallery of prominent African Americans in state and local history. We know it's not complete. Share your suggestions (with justifications) in the comments below.

PHOTO CREDIT: Martin Luther King speaking at California State University, Sacramento on October 16, 1967. Sacramento Bee photograph by Erhardt Krause

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California and Sacramento have a long, rich, vibrant history. And our region is blessed with an abundance of historical resources maintained by museums, libraries, archives and societies. This blog aims to alert readers to the latest developments in local/state historical education and research.

Send tips concerning upcoming exhibits, tours, lectures and meetings, as well as new books, magazine articles and online collections to the blog's contributors.

The Contributors:

Michael Dolgushkin

Michael Dolgushkin is Manuscript Librarian at the California State Library History Section. He is co-author of San Francisco's California Street Cable Cars and is a frequent contributor to the California State Library Foundation Bulletin. Contact him at mdolgushkin@library.ca.gov.

Amanda Graham is a Certified Archivist working in the Sacramento Room of the Sacramento Public Library. She earned a BS in History from Southern Oregon University and a MS in Information Studies with an emphasis in archives from The University of Texas at Austin. Contact her at agraham@saclibrary.org.

Pete Basofin is Director of Editorial Research at The Sacramento Bee. He previously worked at The St. Petersburg Times and Columbia (Mo.) Daily Tribune. Contact him at pbasofin@sacbee.com.

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