The community is invited to a panel presentation celebrating the “Bridges That Carried Us Over" Archive at Cal State San Bernardino’s John M. Pfau Library on Saturday, Jan. 29.

“Building Bridges: Panel Discussion of Black History in the IE,” featuring +guest speakers Wilmer Amina Carter, Cheryl Brown, John Coleman and Carolyn Daniels, will take place on Zoom from 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Participants can join the program at https://csusb.zoom.us/j/82059668409.

The “Bridges That Carried Us Over Project: Documenting Black History in the IE” is an ongoing community-based collaborative initiative aimed at documenting Black history in the Inland Empire.

Launched in 2007 by Wilmer Amina Carter and Ratibu Jacocks, and led by the Wilmer Amina Carter Foundation, the “Bridges That Carried Us Over” project was one of the first documentation projects in the area to capture the stories, experiences, and history of the Black community in the inland region. Carter, along with a team of volunteers, met with the region’s Black pioneers and leaders who contributed significantly to its development, conducting and recording oral history interviews over several years to help diversify the historical record and highlight the rich cultural legacy of the Black community in Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

The initiative was revitalized in 2020 and continues to capture the stories and experiences of the Inland Empire’s Black community through oral history interviews. The scope for the refreshed project has been expanded to further engage the Inland Empire’s Black community in an effort to capture its history more comprehensively.

Project efforts are now also focused on the identification and preservation of historical collections that reside in the community as well as on the creation of a community-centered, participatory digital archive of primary source materials.

Project partners and co-sponsors include the Wilmer Amina Carter Foundation, University of Redlands Program in Race and Ethnic Studies, Relevancy & History Project partnership between University of California’s Public History Program and California State Parks, the CSUSB Department of History, the John M. Pfau Library, Black Voice News, Congregations Organizing for Prophetic Engagement, NexGen United, the Second Baptist Church of Redlands, and the Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California.

Because “Building Bridges” is ongoing, project organizers are inviting the community to participate in the effort to preserve local history and to bring historical photos to scan at one of the upcoming events:

  • Feb. 19: Mrs. Moses’ 100th Birthday Celebration February 25: CSUSB Pioneer Breakfast
  • Feb. 27: New Hope Baptist Mission Auxiliary Celebration of Black History

For more information, contact Marc Robinson, CSUSB assistant professor of history, at marc.robinson@csusb.edu or (909) 537-5528.

Bridges online flier