Not Tantamount To Rarity: Fifty Years of Collecting

Most collections for African Americans are 20th Century and include the papers of Ralph Bunche, the George P. Johnson Negro Film Collection comprising printed, photographic and manuscript materials; the Civil Rights Movement in the United States Collection; and the records of the Golden State Mutual Insurance Company. Printed materials include the Arthur B. Spingarn Collection of Literary Works by American Blacks and pamphlets on the Civil War and Reconstruction.
Documentation for Japanese Americans is the largest for any single ethnic group and is considered the foremost in the country. It is mostly contained in the Japanese American Research Project and focused on the Issei. It includes more than 100 groups of personal papers of individuals and families; several thousand responses to surveys conducted in the 1960s of the Issei, Nisei, and Sansei generations; over 400 tape recorded oral histories; art done by internees during World War II; rare publications of Japanese American communities and organizations; records relating to Japanese consulates on the west coast; and the administrative records of the project.
The department has some material for the study of all periods of Chicano/a history, particularly in relation to California. At present, the major strength of the holdings relates to documentation on issues of immigration, labor and social justice from the 1920s through the 1940s and includes papers of Carey McWilliams and Alice McGrath, and the latter's records as secretary of the Sleepy Lagoon Defense Committee. Sources available for the study of the Mexican heritage include Nahuatl documents and 19th and early 20th Century prints.
There are growing holdings relating to Chinese Americans, Filipino Americans, Korean Americans, and Native Americans.

Photographer unknown. The Sleepy Lagoon defendants (Manuel Delgado, Henry Leyvas, John Matuz "Chepe" Rivera ...) in San Quentin Prison. 1943. Black and white photograph scanned and enlarged from copy negative. Signed by each defendant and inscribed "To Alice with love from her boys." In: McGrath, Alice Greenfield, 1917 - . Papers, 1943 - 1990. Collection 1490. Box. 2 f.12 (original unavailable pending conservation)
Alice Greenfield (later McGrath) was in her twenties when she worked with Carey McWilliams and many other concerned citizens during this time of prejudice against Mexican Americans to overturn the decision against young men tried for the murder of José Díaz. Twenty-two (one Anglo American) were tried as one. Five were acquitted. The seventeen were convicted with various sentences despite the fact that no evidence placed them near Díaz. The appeal was made by Ben Margolis from groundwork laid by George Shibley during the trial. October 4, 1944 McGrath was able to wire Leyvas in San Quentin: "Decision reversed. Victory. Will wire further details when we have them. Oh, what a beautiful morning [punctuation supplied]." Alice Greenfield McGrath was interviewed by the UCLA Oral History Program. Ben Margolis was interviewed by the UCLA Oral History Program.

[Samples of clippings / index cards about African American entertainers, writers, etc. From alphabet A - C] In: Johnson, George P., 1885 - 1977. Negro film collection 1916 - 1977. Collection 1042. Various boxes [use microfilm]

There are thousands of these cards and clippings kept in alphabetical order by Mr. Johnson. Entries are typed or clippings are pasted on to index cards, but as often on envelopes or other paper cut to that size. They are now microfilmed for preservation and use. Since many (not all) are from obscure and unindexed sources, this is an invaluable resource for the study of African Americans in film, and to some extent in other performing arts areas. Johnson's brother Noble Johnson was among the first African Americans to produce motion pictures. George P. Johnson was interviewed by the UCLA Oral History Program.

James Baldwin, 1924 - . Another Country. New York: Dial Press, 1962. Forms part of the Arthur B. Spingarn Collection of American Literary Blacks. Special Collections SRLF

One of George P. Johnson's clippings notes this controversial best selling novel of the 1960s was to be made into a movie, which has never been done. Arthur Spingarn was one of the first white men to work with civil rights legislation and served as president of the NAACP for 26 years. His collection was purchased in 1966. It has since been added to.

Our World 1943 - 1944 Manzanar High. [Yearbook of students interned at Manzanar Relocation Center]. Manzanar, 1944. On cover: Our World, Manzanar, California. In: Adams, Ansel, 1902 - . Papers, 1938 - 1944. Collection 696. Box 1

Our World seems to be a typical high school yearbook. It is for Japanese American students interned with their families at Manzanar. Some of the photographs usual in such a publication - of the drama group, for example - were taken by Ansel Adams. The yearbook is dedicated to "those people with ... simple pleasures ... those men and women with their green growing gardens of the spring." The cover reproduces a map of the area, with its names visible: Independence, Lone Pine, Owens Lake, Panamint ... .

WPA Photograph. Return from Exile. Black and white photograph, copy scanned from copy negative. In: Manzanar War Relocation Center. Records, 1942 - 1946. Collection 122. Box 65

This is from a series of photographs evidently used as a traveling exhibit shortly after WW II ended and the relocation centers were disbanded. This photograph shows Japanese American and Anglo American students at UCLA ascending together the stairs to the west of what is now the Powell Library Building with Royce Hall in the background.

Tichnor Art Company. A Touch of Old Mexico, Olvera Street, Los Angeles, California [color postcard]. Los Angeles, 1930s? Number with title: T232; code: 63624. In: Collection of California postcards, 1890 - . Collection 1351. Box 12

Christine Sterling made Olvera Street a commercial strip about 1934 by stressing its romantic heritage. This view is framed by cactus and palms and shows men with sombreros with City Hall in the background. A prejudice remained. Nearby land of the old Chinatown was condemned to build Union Station 1934 - 1939.

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WPA Photograph. Return from Exile. Black and white photograph, copy scanned from copy negative. In: Manzanar War Relocation Center. Records, 1942 - 1946. Collection 122. Box 65
	This is from a series of photographs evidently used as a traveling exhibit shortly after WW II ended and the relocation centers were disbanded. This photograph shows Japanese American and Anglo American students at UCLA ascending together the stairs to the west of what is now the Powell Library Building with Royce Hall in the background.