ABOUT THE PROJECT
More than forty California State Parks have been identified as key sites connected to important historical events and personages, reflecting the range of African Americans' significant contributions to the state and local areas.
The tranquility of Fort Ord Dunes State Park belies its history as the first interracial military base in California. [California State Parks]
LEADERSHIP
Cameron Shaw, Executive Director, California African American Museum
Armando Quintero, Director,
California State Parks
CURATORIAL TEAM
Susan D. Anderson,
Principal Investigator
Amy Cohen
Arianne Edmonds
Sela Kerr
Sue Mark
Lauren C. O’Brien, PhD
Taylor Price
SCHOLARS
Our scholars conduct research and document community memory to recover histories that have been excluded or falsified.
Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park
Old Town San Diego
Candlestick Point State Recreation Area
Angel Island State Park
Folsom Lake State Recreation Area
Fort Ord Dunes State Park
Columbia State Historic Park
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT & LOCAL HISTORY CONSULTANTS
The Community Engagement & Local History Consultants support the project by connecting the curatorial team with local stakeholders to foster long-term sustainable community relationships.
Clarence Caesar
Folsom Lake State Recreation Area
Michael Bennett
Candlestick Point State Recreation Area
Sandra Grey
Fort Ord Dunes State Park
Yvette Porter-Moore
Old Town San Diego
Partners
The California African American Museum (CAAM) brings fifty years of expertise in inventive and scholarly interpretation of California's African American past to this ambitious partnership with the California State Department of Parks and Recreation.
Our project is made possible by a one-time, five-year project fund awarded by the state legislature in July 2022. The funds support staff, docent, and partner training to interpret and institutionalize newly restored histories. Utilizing research-based, innovative programming and community engagement, the project counters the erasure of Black California from the state’s narrative and recovers valuable knowledge of the past.
MEDIA COVERAGE
Read New York Times coverage of the project here:
The Mormon Island Cemetery in El Dorado Hills, California, contains graves relocated from a historic Black community that was flooded by the creation of the Folsom Lake reservoir in 1954. [Photo: Max Whittaker]