All LA County Library locations will be closed on Friday, July 4 in observance of Independence Day. Our Digital Library is open 24/7.
Join our intergenerational conversation about life in LA County and beyond. Teens will interview elders and each other, and share experiences. A book will be published documenting the conversations. For teens, and elders aged 60 and up.
The Generations Project facilitates intergenerational connections and learning about Los Angeles County community history. LA County Library, in collaboration with our Cultural Resource Centers, will host events for teens and elders to meet and share stories from their lives in Los Angeles County and beyond. These conversations will be recorded and transcribed for a book documenting the experiences and wisdom of these generations. This book will be published by UCLA’s Radical Librarianship Institute and added to the Library's permanent collection!
Do you have a story you'd like to share? Are you curious about the history and cultures of your community? Register for this event and complete our interest form: bit.ly/thegenerationsproject.
Teens who sign-up to be interviewers can receive volunteer service credits. Refreshments provided.
AGE GROUP: | Teens | Older Adults |
EVENT TYPE: | History, Society, & Culture |
TAGS: | Black Resource Center |
Located in a shopping center from 1964 to 1974, the North Enterprise Branch became the A C Bilbrew Library with the opening of the present building on November 2, 1974. Los Angeles County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn was instrumental in the library obtaining funding through a Model Neighborhood Development Program to build a 21,000 square foot library with a capacity to house 100,000 books. The library was designed by Vincent Proby, an African-American architect and is named for Madame A C Bilbrew, a community leader and former deputy for Supervisor Hahn who was also a musician and poet.
In 1933, Mrs. Bilbrew was the first black soloist to appear on radio, and in 1928, she produced the first Negro chorus that was featured in Hollywood's first Negro talkie, titled "Hearts in Dixie." She was the first black person to have a radio show. Mrs. Bilbrew was also a producer of pageants and dramas, an outstanding dramatic reader, and choral director.
A C Bilbrew Library houses the Black Resource Center which supports research and study on social, historical, musical, and cultural aspects unique to the "Black Experience" such as Juneteenth and Kwanzaa. From 1980-2008, A C Bilbrew Library has hosted the County Library's African American History Month Celebration. The "Living Black History Tribute" first honoree was Eubie Blake. This became the "African-American Living Legend" Series. Past Honorees have included Cab Calloway, Count Basie, Rosa Parks, James Baldwin, Coretta Scott King, and Ray Charles. An interactive Living Legends digital display is featured in the main lobby. The library is located in an unincorporated area west of the City of Compton.
