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Peek in the Stacks: bradley center

Bobtown: Robert Celestin and a Louisiana Township

In 1887, after Reconstruction, a black man named Robert Creecy purchased a parcel of Canebrake Plantation land in Louisiana from Florestan Waggenspauch. Creecy sold half the parcel to another buyer, while retaining ownership of the remaining land. In 1898, Creecy's son-in-law, a 25-year-old black man with indigenous ancestry named Robert Celestin, purchased the half parcel of land back...

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The Hassina and Deeptha Leelarathna Photographic Collection

The Hassina and Deeptha Leelarathna Photographic Collection is an invaluable historical archive that offers a glimpse into the lives of two Sri Lankan immigrants who made significant contributions to the Sri Lankan community in the United States.

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The Greatest

The Tom & Ethel Bradley Center contains over 100 images of the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time, Muhammad Ali. Muhammad Ali was born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. in Louisville, Kentucky on January 17, 1942. His life changed forever when he told Louisville police officer and boxing coach Joe Martin that he was going to “whup” whoever stole his bicycle

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San Agustín Archaeological Park Archaeological photographs from Richard Cross

The Richard Cross digital collection at the Tom & Ethel Bradley Center provides a perfect example of the link between photography and archaeology. Richard Cross's photographs demonstrate his extraordinary ability to document groups of people who have often been marginalized and ignored...

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Black Female Politicians

Several black female politicians appear in the Guy Crowder Collection whose careers were marked by many firsts. Two of those women, Yvonne Braithwaite Burke and Maxine Waters, have represented vast areas of Los Angeles during their long careers in public service, and many images of them are available online in the Tom and Ethel Bradley Center Digital Collections....

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20th Century Images of the Central Avenue District

By the turn of the twentieth century the Central Avenue District was on its way to becoming the center of African American life in Los Angeles. It was a slow process that took several decades to complete. Several factors contributed to that development. The Central Avenue District was constructed by surrounding white neighborhoods that barred minorities from living in them.

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The Death of Ronald Stokes and the Birth of Black Power in Los Angeles

In 1930 W. D. Fard formed the Black religious and social movement known as the Nation of Islam (NOI) in Detroit, Michigan. When Fard mysteriously disappeared in 1934 his disciple, Elijah Muhammad, assumed control until his death in 1975. During the mid 1950s NOI national spokesman Malcolm X was instrumental in establishing Mosque No. 27 in Los Angeles, California...

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For the Love of Music: Berry Gordy Jr. and Motown Records

On January 12, 1959, Berry Gordy Jr. founded Tamala Records in Detroit, Michigan with an $800 loan from his family. One year later it was incorporated as the Motown Record Corporation, a blended nickname that comprised the words Detroit had come to be known for, motor and town. The musical talent ....

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Teatro de Cristóbal Colón in the Richard Cross Collection

Photographer Richard Cross spent 1974 to 1978 as a volunteer in Bogotá, Colombia, working as a photographer and audio-visual consultant for the Peace Corps’ Agricultural Communications program. While there he visited and photographed the Teatro de Cristóbal Colón...

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