African American Museum & Library at Oakland

This is a classified topic to my value system. It was a new visit for me..this building in Oakland..there is an exhibit with history..I had not seen some info..kids? too young..middle school high school even college before senior year..tell me who has been here..I had not known..Google maps showed me. I signed up for an Oakland library card..public? various books..interesting to me..

Let's of information and a library to research African American history. The staff is very friendly, knowledgeable and willing to answer questions or assist with research. While there check out their seed library to grow your own plants and or food!

If you're in the city center, you should take an hour or two to check this place out. This is the first library in Oakland in 1902 and a lot of history!

This is a hidden gem in Oakland and we decided to stop by recently to enjoy this African American library. There is a parking garage and street parking nearby. It's very easy to navigate. California and the city of Oakland are enforcing the COVID-19 pandemic precautions and require visitors to wear face masks. All of the exhibits were very educational and shared African American history for the city of Oakland. I would highly recommend it to my friends, my family members, and other travelers to plan for a visit if you're in Oakland.

Fabulous opportunity to gain some cultural knowledge. The ancestors speak in the silence of this library. Peace is obtained in the solitude of your imagination fulfilled with the rich culture of a powerful people!

The African American Museum & Library is a part of the Oakland Public Library system yet no books or media is allowed to be checked out here.I loved pursuing the books on the 1st Floor including books about Muhammad Ali, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Hip Hop, & more. There are a great selection of books & many tables for reading. It is a nice quiet space to study.On the second floor is where the museum is. I loved how interactive it is. There are many videos where you can click on to hear different people's experience about life & living in Oakland.The building the Library & Museum is housed in is a gift of Andrew Carnegie & is a beautiful building. I will definitely return as I loved the library & feel it is a good place to take notes as you can request to borrow items from other branches. The interactive museum is quite comprehensive so feel repeated visits would be necessary to truly absorb it all.

The museum was on my list of places to visit the last time I was in town so I made sure I made it during my last trip. I stopped by on a Friday afternoon. The building, from the outside, looked a bit like an old church so I paused to make sure I was at the right place. Upon entry, I was greeted warmly by a couple of employees at the library on the 1st floor. While you can't check out books, there's a nice wide assortment of great African-American reads.The second floor houses the museum. It's not expansive but it's also not to be overlooked. There's a variety of interactive tools, info on local stories and prominent persons of color from and in Oakland and information on instrumental groups such as the Black Panthers. So glad I went and I will go back on my next visit.

This review comes on the heels of me visiting the Charles Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit in July and in my mind, very little can compare to that. However, these are catering to two different audiences and have been constructed under different circumstances.Although there is a bust of Frederick Douglass in here, you don't come in here to look for information Harriet Tubman, MLK Jr, etc. You come here to look at the local African Americans who shaped Bay Area culture and history. Local and unique. It's small and you can spend 15 minutes to nearly half a day here (but realistically, more like an hour max). Museum is on the second floor and it's free to the public, also not too far of a walk away from 12th Street BART, Preservation Park, and even from Chinatown.

Wonderful museum celebrating African American heritage and culture. The curator setting up the new miniature displays was very friendly answering all our questions. The reference library and archives on the first top rate. There is also a seed library offering seeds of various fruits, vegetables, flowers and herbs. The original Carnegie library building is well preserved and quite handsome.

This is the best museum with so many important and consequential exhibits. Every taxpayer in America should tour this museum..