African American Studies in Library Special Collections

LSC is committed to remediating harmful description by creating and implementing an anti-oppressive approach to discovery and access. We aim to:

• Be clear about what we know, how we know it, and what we don't know
• Embrace baseline description as a tool to improve the discoverability of all our materials
• Demonstrate an understanding that description is a continuous and necessarily iterative endeavor

Read more about our past and current approaches to description in Toward Ethical and Inclusive Descriptive Practices in UCLA Library Special Collections.

The original forty-four pobladores (settlers) who founded Our Lady of the Queen of the Angels (Los Angeles) in 1781 included several of Afro-Mexican descent. In the more than two hundred years since, African-American Angelenos have played an integral role in the city’s development into a world-class metropolis. Library Special Collections holdings on African Americans include significant collections which reveal the influence of individuals, organizations and institutions and their role in the development of the city. African Americans came to Los Angeles in multiple waves of migration from Louisiana, Texas, Illinois, and other states and, once here, fought and triumphed over the racism and bias they believed had been left behind in their home states.

Online Archive of California

• Begin with the Online Archive of California (OAC). Many special collections held by UCLA are included in the OAC database. Vary your search from the very general terms such as “African Americans” to more specific terms such as “African Americans in Los Angeles” or "African American Photographs."

Search UCLA's finding aids on the Online Archive of California:

• Some (early 20th century) Los Angeles African American newspapers may be found in the George P. Johnson Collection.
• The Los Angeles Times Photographic Collection also has a number of historical photographs.
• The Underground, Alternative and Extremist Literature collection 1900-1990.

UCLA Library Resources

• Center for Oral History Research
  • African American History series as well as cross-listed series in other areas such as Arts, Politics & Government, and Music.
• UCLA University Archives or (310) 825-4068)
  • Information on UCLA Black faculty, staff, students and organizations.

• Search the UCLA Library webpage for sources such as:
  • Black Studies: African American & Pan African for links to many excellent newspaper sources.
    • California Eagle, Herald Dispatch, Los Angeles Tribune, LA Watts Times, Los Angeles Sentinel, Watts Star-Review.
  • Nommo, the African American student newspaper
  • Matthews (Miriam) collection of Los Angeles Newspapers on African Americans ca. 1948-1985 See also: African American History of Los Angeles below
  • Keyword search "Negro Directory" to identify California and Los Angeles Negro Directories in the UCLA Library Catalog

• UCLA Ralph J. Bunche Library and Media Center website or call 310-825-6060 for information on their holdings related to African Americans in Los Angeles

* Also note campus departments, units, and organizations with ties to the larger African American community in Los Angeles.