​ ​​The Guardian of Oakland’s Memories

Eugene Lasartemay was a foundational figure in chronicling the Black experience in the American West. 

​The Guardian of Oakland’s Memories

​The Man Who Saved Our Stories: Eugene Lasartemay and the Birth of AAMLO

​Have you ever wondered what happens to history when nobody is looking? In the mid-1940s, a marine engineer named Eugene Lasartemay noticed a glaring silence in California’s history books. There were no stories about the Black pioneers, the laborers, or the community leaders who built the East Bay.

​Instead of waiting for someone else to fix it, Eugene and his wife, Ruth, started in their own living room.

​A Library Born from a Living Room

In 1946, Eugene and Ruth Lasartemay, alongside their friends Jesse and Dr. Marcella Ford, began a decades-long mission. They collected everything: old funeral programs, family photos, letters, and oral histories. They understood that for a community to have a future, it must have a documented past. This humble collection eventually grew into the East Bay Negro Historical Society, which we know today as the world-class African American Museum & Library at Oakland (AAMLO).

​More Than Just a Historian

Eugene wasn’t an academic in the traditional sense. He was a man of the people. He was the first licensed Black marine engineer to sail from San Francisco, a legendary Scoutmaster who earned the Silver Beaver Award, and a researcher who helped uncover the hidden Black history of the famous author Jack London.

​His legacy reminds us that history isn't just about dates—it’s about the people who refuse to let their community be forgotten. Next time you visit AAMLO or walk through Allensworth State Park, take a moment to thank Eugene. He made sure our place in the "Golden State" was etched in stone.

​Eugene Pasqual Lasartemay

​Eugene Pasqual Lasartemay (May 17, 1903 – June 3, 1993) was an American historian, civic leader, and marine engineer. He is most notable as a co-founder of the East Bay Negro Historical Society (EBNHS), the predecessor to the African American Museum & Library at Oakland (AAMLO). His lifelong work focused on the preservation of African American history in California and the Western United States.

​Early life and education

​Lasartemay was born in Kekaha, Kauai, Hawaii, to Patricio Lasarte and Ana Eglesia Adeline Torres de Lasarte. He moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1920s to pursue an education in engineering. He graduated from Dobie’s Engineering College in San Francisco and, in 1937, became the first licensed African American marine engineer to sail from the Port of San Francisco.

​Career and historical work

​After retiring from a career in marine engineering and the grocery industry in 1965, Lasartemay dedicated himself to historical preservation.

​East Bay Negro Historical Society: On July 2, 1965, Lasartemay, along with his wife Ruth Lasartemay and colleagues Marcella and Jesse Ford, officially organized the EBNHS. The society's mission was to "collect, preserve, record, and disseminate information" regarding Black history in the West.

​Allensworth State Historic Park: Lasartemay served as a key member of the advisory committee that worked to establish Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park, the first California state park dedicated to African American pioneers.

​Literary contributions: He co-authored For Love of Jack London: His Life with Jennie Prentiss (1991), which detailed the significant influence of London’s African American foster mother, Jennie Prentiss.

​Civic involvement

​Lasartemay was a prominent figure in the Boy Scouts of America, serving as a Scoutmaster for Troop #43 in Berkeley for nearly 50 years. For his service, he was awarded the Silver Beaver Award. He was also active in the NAACP and the Men of Tomorrow, Inc.

​Legacy

​The archival collections he helped start now reside at AAMLO in the historic Charles S. Greene building. His personal papers, known as the Lasartemay Family Papers (MS 95), are a primary resource for researchers studying 20th-century Black civic life in Oakland.

​See also

​African American Museum & Library at Oakland

​Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park

​Jennie Prentiss

​