Long Beach Public Library Foundation

Exciting Changes for the African American Resource Center


Aaron Day and Indira Hale Tucker from the African American Heritage Society speak at the dedication of the new genealogy section of the Main Library on June 28, 2004.
Long Beach Public Library Digital Archives

On October 10, 1998, the African American Resource Center was officially dedicated at the Burnett Neighborhood Library in central Long Beach thanks to the support of the African American Heritage Society of Long Beach. Today, the Heritage Society continues to curate and revitalize the collection of over 1,200 items which was recently moved to its own dedicated alcove at the Library.

Indira Hale Tucker, a founding board member of the Long Beach Public Library Foundation, and Doris Topsy Elvord, former Vice Mayor of Long Beach, spearheaded the formation of the Heritage Society under the charitable umbrella of the Friends of the Long Beach Public Library in 1997.

Check out the Long Beach Post’s recent interview with Nicole Ballard, President of the Heritage Society, to learn more about how the collection has evolved through the years. Click Here.