African Americans in California Multiple Property Documentation Form

African Americans in California Multiple Property Documentation Form is a winner for the 2025 Preservation Design Award for Cultural Heritage, Intangible Assets. Award recipients are selected by a jury of top professionals in the fields of architecture, engineering, planning, and history, as well as renowned architecture critics and journalists. Tickets and sponsorship options are available at californiapreservation.org/programs/awards/.

About African Americans in California Multiple Property Documentation Form

The MPDF serves as a starting point for listing properties in the National Register of Historic Places. It lays out historic contexts associated with the history of the African American community in California as well as property types that represent those historic contexts.

The history of the African American community in California is a rich and nuanced experience that both ties into larger forces shaping African American life in the United States while also being unique to the state. African Americans have been integral to the growth and development of California since before statehood, and their contributions have been wide-ranging and multi-faceted. African American communities can be found throughout California – from large cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Sacramento, to smaller rural and suburban communities throughout the state. The MPDF establishes the framework for the identification and designation of properties associated with the African American community in California.

Community Importance

The MPDF is intended to update and expand upon Five Views: An Ethnic Historic Site Survey of California, published by the Office of Historic Preservation (OHP) in 1988. Five Views was a statewide survey of properties associated with ethnic communities in the state, including African Americans, Native Americans, Chinese Americans, Japanese Americans, and Mexican Americans. It includes an overview of the history of African Americans as it relates to particular topics, including the neighborhood development and community building, church, education, industry, business, voluntary associations, and individuals. It also includes a list of associated properties (including buildings and sites). The MPDF complements the African American Heritage Theme Study, produced by the National Park Service in 2008. The Heritage Theme Study examines sites of significance to African Americans in the United States within a number of historic contexts, including civil rights.

One of the primary goals of the MPDF was to provide more information on communities outside California’s major metropolitan areas (i.e. San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Oakland). The project team included this as a focus in their research efforts. It also sought the feedback of an advisory committee, comprised of subject matter experts throughout the state, and included outreach to individuals and organizations with knowledge of African American history to ensure that research was as broad and inclusive as possible. The MPDF facilitates the nomination of properties to the National Register for a community whose history has long been under-documented and unacknowledged.

About CPF and the Awards

The California Preservation Awards are a statewide hallmark, showcasing the best in historic preservation. The awards ceremony includes the presentation of the Preservation Design Awards and the President’s Awards, bringing together hundreds of people each year to share and celebrate excellence in preservation.

The California Preservation Foundation (CPF), a 501c3 nonprofit, was incorporated in 1978. We now support a national network of more than 36,000 members and supporters. Click here to learn how you can become a member.