PROJECT TEAM
Curators
Dr. Stephanie Anne Johnson,
Co-curator
Co-curator
Dr. Johnson is a longtime Berkeley resident who served on the Civic Arts Commission for eight years. She currently serves on the Landmarks Preservation Commission. She is a founding faculty member and professor in the Visual and Public Art Department at California State University, Monterey Bay. In 2012 Dr. Johnson was given the distinction of a “Stephanie Anne Johnson Day” by the City of Berkeley in recognition of her contributions in the fields of civic service, education, and the arts. Dr. Johnson is a practicing artist and theatre lighting designer whose work has been seen locally, nationally, and internationally. Her research interests include African American art, the Harlem Renaissance, and the New Deal.
Harvey Smith, Co-curator
Harvey Smith is an historian and author who became a resident of Berkeley over 50 years ago. He is president of the National New Deal Preservation Association and a project advisor for the Living New Deal at the University of California at Berkeley. Mr. Smith has curated art and history exhibits in Bay Area galleries. He has worked as an activist on health and education policy. He participated in the struggle to save the historic downtown Berkeley Post Office and is currently involved with preserving the irreplaceable open space of People’s Park. Mr. Smith is the author of Berkeley and the New Deal.
Creative & Production Team
Luceiris Collymore Abbas, Curatorial Assistant
Luceiris Collymore Abbas is a Berkeley High School scholar who is deeply interested in photography, fashion, and writing. She works on the Berkeley High Jacket and in her free time she is involved with editorials. Ms. Collymore Abbas has done projects for various artists, and her passion for photography and history led her to this influential project which centers on the history of Black Berkeley.
Mimia Ousilas, Curatorial Assistant
Mimia Ousilas is a current sophomore at Berkeley High School. In addition to a love for art and creativity, she is very passionate about journalism, particularly investigative journalism, which she pursues in her school newspaper, the Berkeley High Jacket. Ms. Ousilas has previously done investigative pieces looking into the complex Black history and culture in Berkeley and is incredibly excited to be a part of this in-depth historical project.
Celise O. Knott, Curatorial Assistant
Celise Knott is in her final academic year at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising and Fashion Design (FIDM). As a designer, she presents creative expression in all aspects of fashion design, including fashion illustrations, designs and computer applications using state-of-the-industry technology. Recently, her oil painting was virtually displayed at the Fault Line Art Space, Oakland CA. Ms. Knott’s artwork has been displayed in the Bay Area at: the Warehouse 416 - Oakland, Joyce Gordon Gallery - Oakland, Oakland Youth Art Explosion, The Richmond Art Center, Art of the Africa Diaspora Museum, and Ethic Notions Fine Art Gallery - Vallejo & Napa Valley.
Raquel Matthews, Curatorial Assistant
Raquel Matthews is currently a junior at Berkeley High School. Her passion for music, literature, and social justice has led to composing music for poems by Black authors and researching the works of Black artists. In addition to art and literature, her love for history has led her to this project. Ms. Matthews is thrilled to be a part of this fascinating exhibit.
Mary Jackson,
Lead Researcher
Lead Researcher
Mary Jackson received her master’s degree in Moving Image Archiving and Preservation (MIAP) from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in 2020. Her master’s thesis was a preservation project designed to recreate the Sacramento Street business district and the development of a digital mapping tool. After learning about part two of the African Americans in Berkeley’s History and Legacy exhibition, Ms. Jackson contributed her thesis research and joined the exhibition research team in February 2021. She is an archive practitioner whose interests include the preservation of analog and born-digital audiovisual materials, cultural heritage preservation and memory work, and digital humanities projects.
Madison Draper, Mapmaker
Madison Draper has been with the African Americans in Berkeley’s History and Legacy project from the beginning of its development. Previously she was part of a team that created digital mapping for Oakland Black businesses. Ms. Draper is a cartographer based in San Diego, California. She studied Geography and American Studies at UC Berkeley. She's passionate about diversity & inclusion and works to make it a significant part of her work and outside of work. In her spare time, she's a first responder and enjoys playing with her cat!
Advisory Committee
David Knott,
Advisory Board Member
Advisory Board Member
was born and raised in Berkeley and attended 12 years of Berkeley schools. He is a graduate of Laney College, Golden Gate University and Saint Mary’s College of California and is a U.S. Air Force Vietnam-era veteran. The year 2020 marked 100 years that members of his family have lived in Berkeley. Mr. Knott is a Community Outreach Liaison for the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District and founder of the Suisun City Youth Commission, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization for youth and family services. His background in man- agement, logistics, and counseling informs his mindful and proactive community service approach.
Tina Jones Williams,
Advisory Board Member
Advisory Board Member
is an award-winning author who has written eight books that pay homage to the rich traditions in the African American community. Born and raised in the all-Black neighborhood on Julia Street in South Berkeley, Ms. Williams attended neighborhood schools until she was bussed to become a member of the first desegregated junior high school in Berkeley. After graduation from Berkeley High School, Ms. Williams went to the University of Texas at Austin. She is the author of the Julia Street Series of novels. She leads neighborhood walks sharing anecdotes, folklore, and history about times, places, and people she feels should not be forgotten. Ms. Williams is pictured on a South Berkeley history mural, which also depicts Julia Street, one of ten streets considered the “heart of South Berkeley.” She served as a Berkeley History Center docent for several years and has done interviews with prominent Black citizens of Berkeley.
Byron Rumford III,
Advisory Board Member
Advisory Board Member
was born at Herrick Hospital in Berkeley and is the grandson of William Byron Rumford, Sr., an important figure in local and regional politics. He attended Berkeley public schools before attending Armstrong College and San Francisco State University. Continuing the family tradition of public service, he volunteers at the Dorothy Day House and the Telegraph Baptist Center food pantry. Mr. Rumford was involved with the transition of the Rumford Pharmacy into its current profile as a medical center. He supported the project that resulted in a bronze figurative sculpture in honor of his grandfather, and he was successful in the place- ment of a sidewalk pedestal plaque on Sacramento Street adjacent to the sculpture and in front of the building where Byron Rumford Sr. had a pharmacy.