Fall 2009 MIRROR Newsletter
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THE MIRROR The Richmond Museum Association Newsletter Fall 2009 Vol. 58 No. 2 THE KLAN IN RICHMOND: THE REST OF THE STORY by Donald Bastin Of the more than 200 images that appear in our his- “un-American.” tory of Richmond (Arcadia Press, 2003), none has gen- Looking at our photos of the Klan march (we have erated as much controversy and comment as the image seven, all taken by the same person and all snapshots), that appears on the bottom of page 57, showing Ku Klux certain facts stand out. For instance, while the marchers Klansmen marching down Macdonald Avenue in 1924. are wearing their usual white garments, and are hooded, To some, this is a shocking photo and not an accurate they are unmasked, so their identities are revealed. Also, reflection of what they remember of Richmond’s past; to there are women marching, also in Klan garb, which seems others, it is merely a confirmation of long-held opinions unusual. And last, they have several floats, all apparently that Richmond has always been a deeply racist town. supporting some worthy cause. The general sense is that The truth, as usual, is both more ambiguous and much the Klan was trying to appeal to a broader audience. To more complex. be sure, in the mid-’20s, the A review of our local news- Klan had achieved a pow- paper, the Richmond Indepen- erful political stature, but, dent, in the days preceding and outside of its comfort zone following this July 4th parade, in the South, it faced increas- reveals the following informa- ing skepticism. Many, if not tion: First of all, the number of most, politicians, tried to marching Klansmen was large, keep themselves at some dis- estimated to be about 750. Sec- tance from the Klan. There- ond, and most important, this fore, what we perceive here group was made up of Klan con- is a somewhat cleansed ver- tingents from five surrounding cit- sion of the Klan, a kind of ies: Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose, Vallejo, and Santa “Klan lite.” Rosa. You will note that there was no contingent from After the parade, the Klan held a fiery meeting at Grand Richmond. In fact, the Klan had never intended to march Canyon (Alvarado) Park, in which the city of Oakland in Richmond’s parade; their plan was to march in was excoriated. Whether their threatened legal action ac- Oakland’s 4th of July parade. But the Oakland City tually produced any results is unknown. I have no evi- Council refused their request (enraging the Klan leader- dence that the KKK ever marched in Oakland after this ship, which vowed legal action). How the Klan got into date, or that they ever participated in another of Richmond’s Richmond’s parade is not entirely clear, but at least one parades. citizen filed a complaint with the city, specifically over its Photographs, like any other kind of evidence, can be lack of a permitting process for participation in holiday misleading. The fact that the Ku Klux Klan marched on parades. So the city neither granted nor refused permis- Richmond’s streets certainly is nothing to be proud of. But sion to the Klan to march. Nonetheless, their participa- neither does it show that Richmond, in 1924, was any more tion was controversial, and at least one local group pulled racist than the surrounding communities or that Richmond out of the parade in protest, stating that the Klan was was ever a “Klan” town. FROM THE PRESIDENT THE LARGEST ARTIFACT by Lois Boyle Fifty-five years ago a group of citizens organized them- the course for the professional museum it has become. selves into the Richmond Museum Association. They had been collecting Richmond’s history in their basements and That process led with deliberate intent to the acquisi- garages for years, then storing items at the Richmond tion of the largest artifact in the collection – the SS Red Plunge, and finally decided it was time to become an orga- Oak Victory. In 1996 Congress passed legislation autho- nization whose purpose was to increase and diffuse rizing the conveyance of the ship to the Association, a con- knowledge and appreciation of art, history, and sci- veyance which challenged the membership and had to be ence, and to that end to establish and maintain in the completed within 2 years. In September of 1998, the City of Richmond, California, a museum and reference Association’s most unique donor form was completed with library, to collect and preserve objects of historic, ar- the federal government and the ship was transferred to the tistic and scientific interest, to protect historic sites, Richmond Museum Association. works of art, scenic places and wildlife from needless destruction and loss, to provide facilities for research This artifact is just a bit different from all the others. It and publication, and to offer popular instruction and is large, doesn’t fit in the Museum. A suitable place had to opportunities for aesthetic enjoyment. Well, this was a be found for it, and in another unique, collaborative arrange- noble and broad statement, and when it came down to re- ment with the City of Richmond, the ship is housed (berthed) ality, and the object of the Association was determined, it at the site of the Kaiser Shipyards where it was built. was simply to increase and diffuse knowledge and ap- preciation of history, art and science. So what is your museum? It’s a vast collection of historical materials and artifacts telling Richmond’s story. Through the years that purpose has been modified It’s a rich story, and it’s your story – one we are proud to slightly, reflecting what can and should be done, and suc- tell. cinctly outlining itself in four brief statements: 1 – to promote and encourage the study and re- search the history of the greater Richmond area; QUESTIONS FROM OUR 1 – to disseminate the knowledge of that history; 3 – to collect, preserve, and display historical ma- EADERS terials and artifacts; R ? 4 – to mark, preserve, and maintain places of his- toric interest. Do you have a question about Richmond’s history? If so, send it to us, and we’ll try to answer it in the next The Museum had its serious beginning in June of 1962 issue of The Mirror. when a lease of the Carnegie Library building was negoti- Maybe you wonder how a street or park got its name, ated with the City of Richmond at a modest fee of $1 per or where a missing landmark went. Or maybe you have year. Then, 18 years later, after working carefully with an old photograph of a group of people at an event, and you community groups, a private donor, the Redevelopment want to find out about the event or the names of the people Agency and the City, the building was rehabilitated and in the photo. enlarged through the addition of the Seaver Gallery and its If we are unable to provide answers ourselves, we private patio. During the two year period following the may publish the question or photo in the next issue of The move of the Museum back into the building, the Associa- Mirror and, as they say on TV’s “Who Wants to be a tion engaged in a unique, collaborative arrangement with Millionaire,” “ask the audience.” Hopefully, one of our the City for the continued operation of the Museum through readers will be able to help. a formal Cooperative Agreement entered into in 1982. Send your questions and/or photos to the editor at [email protected], or call 510-237-5670. It was a busy time of redefining the museum’s pur- pose, upgrading the gallery exhibits, developing appropri- ate standards for acquisition and preservation, and setting - 2 - GREAT GIFTS -- HOLIDAY SHOPPING WITH A HEART RICHMOND MUSEUM OF HISTORY RED OAK VICTORY GIFT SHOP GIFT SHOP by Marjorie Hill by Clementina Diaz The Richmond Museum of History has a small gift shop in Now is the time to be thinking of Holiday gifts. Let the Red the Main Gallery where various historical books, ornaments, post- Oak Victory make it easy for you with some of these gift ideas: ers and toys can be purchased. All proceeds help with projects the Museum is working on. We encourage people to support the Our crew and Museum members may especially enjoy the Museum by purchasing items for yourself or friends. Many of ROV logo on the ball caps, sweatshirts, tees and polo shirts. our items are unique and make wonderful gifts, especially for Don’t forget our ROV Crew license plate holders, patches, lapel long-time Richmond residents. and hat pins and the wonderfully heavy coffee mugs. BOOKS Ladies of all ages enjoy the Rosie the Riveter metal lunch We have a wide selection of books covering local history, pails in red or blue as well as the Rosie canvas totes in two including many of the popular Arcadia histories (including, of different sizes. Other items include an image of Rosie on metal, course, our book on the history of Richmond). We also carry a coffee mugs, lapel pins and magnets. book you can find nowhere else, La Nostra Storia, the history of the Italian-Americans in Richmond. Our cookbook, full of popu- Our scale-model airplanes have created a lot of interest. Some lar recipes collected from our members, is a perennial favorite. are from the WW II era while others include the Blue Angels and Our newest addition is Summer Brenner’s historical novel for helicopters.