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Miriam Matthews Photograph Collection

Owning Institution: UCLA, Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library

About this Collection

The Miriam Matthews Photograph collection consists of 4,600 black and white photographs of varying sizes, negatives, captions and descriptions from museum exhibitions, and a slide carousel. The collection reflects Matthews' dedication to the preservation of African American history in Los Angeles. The chronology of the scenes and people depicted in this collection spans from the Spanish founding of the city in the late 18th century to the 1980s, with the bulk of the collection from the twentieth century. Key points of interest from the Spanish and Mexican eras include the founding Los Angeles pobladores of African descent, African American stagecoach drivers and overland guides to California, and the multiracial californio family of Pio Pico. Other points of interest after U.S. annexation in 1848 include the influx of middle class African Americans to Los Angeles between 1890 and 1915, as well as the churches, social, charitable, and fraternal organizations they formed during this period and through the 1980s. Matthews' collection also highlights those individuals who contributed to civil rights legislation and advocacy, those who were elected or appointed to government positions, popular entertainers, artists, and black-owned businesses. There is also substantial collection of photographs produced by black photographer Harry H. Adams, documenting life, politics, community service, and civil rights movement in Los Angeles in the 1960s. View this collection on the contributor's website.
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1,599 items found in this collection

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Allen Allensworth in uniform, circa 1913
Allen Allensworth in uniform with a birds eye view of Allensworth superimposed, …
Allen Allensworth in uniform with medals, circa 1913
Allen Allensworth reading, circa 1913
Alma Grubbs and her mother Fanny Ray Grubbs, Sacramento, circa 1910
Alpha Kappa Alpha 15th Boule conference at UCLA, Los Angeles, 1932
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority members at a national boulé meeting, 1950s
Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority members Martha Williams, Carol Brice, and Ursula Murrell …
Alpha Kappa Alpha Western States 3rd Annual Regional Conference, Los Angeles, 1931
Alpha Kappa Alpha women at the sorority House, Los Angeles, 1964
Alpha Kappa Alpha women at the sorority House, Los Angeles, 1964
Alpha Kappa Alpha women, Los Angeles, 1910-1920
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority honor the Matilda …
Altar at St.. Matthias Episcopal Church, Los Angeles, circa 1960-1963
Altar of St. Matthias Episcopal Church at Christmas, Los Angeles, circa 1960-1963
Alvin A. Coffey, Alameda County, 1870-1880
Alvin A. Coffey, Alameda County,1850-1860
Alvin Ailey, Josephine Baker, 1950s
American Legion Department Convention at the Civic Auditorium Convention Hall, San Francisco, …
Andrés Pico adobe house after restoration, Mission Hills (Los Angeles), 1939
Andrés Pico adobe house before its restoration, Mission Hills (Los Angeles), circa …
Angelita Williams, Los Angeles, 1915 (?)
Ann Shaw, Los Angeles civic leader, 1977
Anna Dugged Owens, 1890-1900
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