By Robert J. Hansen | OBSERVER Staff Writer
The Center for Sacramento History recently received national recognition for its short film series “Unlocking the Past: A History of Prejudice and Racism in Sacramento.”
The center won the Leadership in History Award of Excellence from the American Association for State and Local History, according to a press release from the city.
Three films have been released in the series, which can be viewed here, focusing on systemic racism in Sacramento on specific subjects such as the fight for fair housing, the KKK and John Sutter.
City Historian Marcia Eymann said there is a “long list” of subjects the Center is planning on creating films for.
“The goal with these short films is to tell stories from the region in a more complete and honest way, and to face and examine discrimination while acknowledging its long-term effects on our communities,” explained Eymann.
The available films tell of the Sacramento city manager’s fight in 1922 to get the Ku Klux Klan out of government, Nathanial Colley’s work to address housing discrimination in Sacramento and John Sutter’s impact on the California Indians of the Sacramento area, according to the City of Sacramento.
Colley also was a crusader for fair housing throughout his career. Hear one of Colley’s speeches.
Al Brown, who is married to one of Colley’s daughters, Ola Marie Brown, said the center’s winning a national award is perfect for recognizing Colley’s life’s work.
“You know he was a leader in the area of civil rights and one of the big things he contributed was the quality of housing,” Brown said. “He wanted to make the world a better place and give everybody an equal opportunity, an equal chance at success and living their dream.”
The films are produced by the center and local filmmakers using footage, photographs and archival material from the center’s collections, along with interviews with national and local scholars, and people from the community telling their own stories.
The other films now available address housing discrimination in Sacramento and John Sutter’s impact on the California Indians of the Sacramento area.
The American Association for State and Local History awards program was initiated in 1945 to establish and encourage standards of excellence in the collection, preservation and interpretation of state and local history throughout the United States.
Eymann said the series is planned to be used included in some Sacramento school curriculum for third- and fourth-graders, as well as in high schools.
“Those are the grade levels that they teach California history,” Eymann said.
The films also are expected to be included in the city’s 21 Days of Equity, Eymann said.
Eymann expects the next film, part two on fair housing in Sacramento, to be available in about two weeks.
The Center For Sacramento History, 551 Sequoia Pacific Blvd., Sacramento 95811, is open for in-person research by appointment from 9 a.m.-noon and 1-4 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Phone: 916-808-7072.