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Last February I wrote a brief essay on the San Francisco Athenaeum and Literary Association, one of the first black circulating libraries in the west.
This month I have new information about one of the Athenaeum’s founders, Mifflin Wistar Gibbs. Gibbs was born in Philadelphia in 1823, the child of free parents and trained as a carpenter. He kept his finger on the pulse of the abolition movement and kept company with the literary and political movers and shakers of the day including Frederick Douglass. In 1850 he traveled to San Francisco where, with money earned shining shoes, Gibbs along with his business partner Peter Lester, opened a successful shoe store, the Pioneer Boot and Shoe Company.
This company would exhibit at the Mechanics’ Institute’s first and second Industrial Expositions – winning a bronze medal for gentlemen’s shoes (1857) and a certificate of merit for a case of gentlemen’s and ladies boots and gaiters of fine quality (1858). Both of these expositions took place on the plot of land between Montgomery, Post, and Sutter – right where the Crocker Galleria now stands.
Along with starting up the San Francisco Athenaeum and Literary Association in 1853, Gibbs was also involved with two newspapers that catered to the African American community of San Francisco: the Mirror of the Times (1857) and the Alto California (1851) and served as a delegate to California’s Negro Conventions of 1854, 1855, and 1857.
He later moved to British Columbia in 1858 when gold was discovered on the Fraser River. Over the course of his life Gibbs was involved with the national Negro convention movement, the state of Arkansas’ Republican Party, and he later became the nation’s first black jurist and the U.S. Consul to Madagascar. For more information on the amazing life of Mifflin Gibbs, read his autobiography on Google Books.
While the Mechanics' Institute does not have a special "African American" collection, it does collect books on topics specifically of interest to African Americans and has recently added several new titles of merit. To find more books, just ask a librarian on the 3rd floor of the library or send an email to [email protected].
In the Words of Frederick Douglass : Quotations from Liberty's Champion - edited by John R. McKivigan and Heather L. Kaufman ; foreword by John Stauffer (92 D737i)
"There is no negro problem. The problem is whether the American people have loyalty enough, honor enough, patriotism enough, to live up to their own constitution." Douglass’ words still ring true. Culled from The Frederick Douglass Papers (speeches, correspondence, editorials/essays, autobiographies), the quotations in this single volume are on topics ranging from politics to vice.
The Silence of our Friends - written by Mark Long & Jim Demonakos; art by Nate Powell (741.5 L848)
A semi-autobiographical account of two families living in Houston, Texas in 1967 - one white and one black. As the civil rights struggle heats up they find common ground while trying to win the freedom of five black college students unjustly charged with the murder of a policeman.
How to be Black - by Baratunde Thurston (305.896 T544)
Have you ever been called "too black" or "not black enough"?
Have you ever befriended or worked with a black person?
Have you ever heard of black people?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, this book is for you. Raised by a pro-black, Pan-Afrikan single mother during the crack years of 1980s Washington, DC, and educated at Sidwell Friends School and Harvard University, Baratunde Thurston has more than over thirty years' experience being black. He also is director of digital at The Onion, the cofounder of Jack & Jill Politics, a stand-up comedian, and a globe-trotting speaker so that should give you an idea of how entertaining this book is!
Redefining Black Power : Reflections on the State of Black America - edited by Joanne Griffith (305.896 R314)
A very local production, this book was published by City Lights and was written by a noted broadcast journalist from the BBS and the Pacifica Radio Network. Exploring the phenomenon and aftermath of the first Obama presidency, this book attempts to determine if it has helped the struggle for political, economic and cultural equality in the United States.
If you love California literature, you’ll love this addition to our collection! Published by local Heydey Books, Black California is the first comprehensive anthology celebrating black writing through almost two centuries of Californian history.
