African American Museum and Library at Oakland

African American Museum and Library at Oakland

The African American Museum and Library at Oakland (AAMLO) is a museum and non-circulating library dedicated to preserving African American history, experiences and culture.

The AAMLO began as a private collection in 1946, and in 1964 became the East Bay Negro Historical Society, Inc. It later changed its name to the Northern California Center for Afro-American History & Life, before being incorporated into the city of Oakland in 1994 under its current name, the African American Museum and Library at Oakland.

Among the more than 160 collections in the library are archives relating to Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, the Black Panthers, Africa, and genealogy. Materials include photographs, manuscripts, letters, diaries, newspapers, recorded oral histories, videos, and microfilms. AAMLO's two galleries host changing exhibitions of art, history, and culture. AAMLO began as a private collection in 1946.

Initially housed in a small shop front on Grove Street (now Martin Luther King, Jr. Way), the collection grew quickly and in 1960, moved into the Oakland Public Library's Golden Gate Branch. It officially became AAMLO, a public/private partnership, in 1994. AAMLO moved into its current location in 2002.