"Black History Month" Display

February 2004

African-American authors from the Sacramento area are featured in this display for Black History Month.

Racism in California is the subject of this assortment of books, photographs, and ephemera.

Mountain man and scout James Beckwourth was one of many African–American pioneers who helped blaze the trails gold-seekers of all races and nationalities would follow. Vintage Gold Rush daguerrotypes are courtesy California State Library.

Part of the Chris Webber Collection, this autographed quotation was signed by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on March 28, 1957.

This colorful, beautifully lettered Emancipation Proclamation from Abraham Lincoln is the official State of California copy printed here in 1864. Displayed courtesy of the California State Library.

In 1857, Frederick Douglass became the first African–American appointed to a federal post—Marshall of the District of Columbia—by President Rutherford Hayes. Here, in a letter, he thanks A. G. Riddle for sharing a copy of a eulogy that Mr. Riddle delivered. Also on view is a signed cart–de–visite from 1870. Both items are part of the Chris Webber Collection.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, contributions to American society were honored in a tribute to him at Carnegie Hall on Friday, January 27, 1961. The program cover is signed by Dr. King and by noted actor Sidney Poitier. A postcard written by Malcolm X to Alex Haley in 1964 is the centerpiece of this display case and reads: "One hundred years after the Civil War, and these chimpanzees get more recognition, respect and freedom in America than our people do. Bro Malcolm X." These items are from the Chris Webber Collection.

Kidnapped from her home in Africa and sold into slavery at age seven, Phillis Wheatley was the first African–American woman poet to be published. Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, was published in 1773. From the Chris Webber Collection.

Display created by Tom Tolley and Vivian Turner