‘San Bernardino Civil Rights: Voices from the Bridges That Carried Us Over’ set for Feb. 11

The history of the Civil Rights movement in San Bernardino will be the focus of a presentation at the city’s Feldheym Central Library, 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11

The program will be presented by the Bridges That Carried Us Over Project, which documents Black history in the Inland Empire and whose digital archives is part of Cal State San Bernardino’s John M. Pfau Library Special Collection and University Archives. Jennifer Tilton, associate professor of race and ethnic studies at the University of Redlands; Romaine Washington, a poet and educator; and Vicki Lee, community activist and lifelong resident of San Bernardino, will lead the program.

The Feldheym Library is located at 555 W. 6th St. in San Bernardino.

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 efforts 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.

Bridges That Carried Us Over is interested in photographs, stories and other materials to help build its collection. Community members are encouraged to bring something they believe may fit into the history project’s goal of documenting Black history in the Inland Empire.

The history project will also host a Community Scanning Day 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Feb. 24 at the CSUSB Pioneer Breakfast, which will take place at the Cal State San Bernardino Santos Manuel Student Union North Conference Center.