Overview
The “Bridges That Carried Us Over Project: Documenting Black History in the IE” is a community-based collaborative initiative aimed at documenting Black history in the Inland Empire.
Founded by Wilmer Amina Carter and Ratibu Jacocks, the “Bridges that Carried Us Over” project was launched in 2007 and led by the Wilmer Amina Carter Foundation. This project was one of the first documentation projects in the area to capture the stories, experiences, and history of the Black community in this 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 more comprehensively capture its history. 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 Leads
- Dr. Jennifer Tilton (Associate Professor of Race & Ethnic Studies, University of Redlands)
- Dr. Marc A. Robinson (Assistant Professor of History, CSUSB)
- Dr. Catherine Gudis (Associate Professor of History, UC Riverside)
- Eric Milenkiewicz (University Archivist, CSUSB)
Project Partners & Co-Sponsors
- 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.
- CSUSB Department of History
- CSUSB John M. Pfau Library
- Black Voice News
- Congregations Organizing for Prophetic Engagement
- NexGen United
- Second Baptist Church of Redlands
- Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California
Contribute to the Project
We are seeking photographs, stories, and other materials to help build our collection. We are especially interested in photographs and related materials that capture civil rights organizations and protests, Black churches, businesses and social organizations (e.g., Masons, clubs), and historic neighborhoods (e.g., Mead Valley, eastside Riverside, westside San Bernardino, Stuart Street in Redlands).
We’d love to hear from you! If you are interested in contributing to the collection please complete this form or contact us at archives@csusb.edu.
Events
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February 24, 2023: Community Scanning Day at the “CSUSB Pioneer Breakfast”
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Details: Bring your historic photographs to-be scanned for the digital archive and help celebrate/preserve Black history in the Inland Empire
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Time: 9a-2p
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Location: SMSU North Conference Center (CSUSB campus)
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- February 19, 2022: Mrs. Moses 100th Birthday Celebration
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Details: Bring your historic photographs to-be scanned for the digital archive and help celebrate/preserve Black history in the Inland Empire
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Time: 10:30a – 1: 30p
- Location: 21565 Steele Peak Dr., Perris, CA 92570
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Presentations
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April 27, 2023: “Amplifying Unheard Voices: A community-based approach to preserving Black History in the Inland Empire” presented by Eric Milenkiewicz at the Society of Southwest Archivists Annual Meeting
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February 11, 2023: “San Bernardino Civil Rights: Voices from the Bridges That Carried Us Over” presented by Dr. Jennifer Tilton, Romaine Washington, and Vicki Lee
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February 8, 2023: “Untold Stories of Black History in Redlands” presented by Dr. Jennifer Tilton
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September 1, 2022: “Early San Bernardino Black Civil Rights Networks: Chasing Down Pieces in the Archives & Creating Maps” presented by Dr. Jennifer Tilton
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June 2, 2022: “Collaborative Engagement in Digital Collection Building: Preserving Black History in the Inland Empire” presented by Eric Milenkiewicz at the CSU Libraries Digital Repositories Meeting.
- January 29, 2022: “Building Bridges: Panel Discussion of Black History in the IE”
Research
Bridges That Carried Us Over Project: Social Media Archive
I.E. Black History: ArcGIS StoryMaps
Media Coverage
CSUSB Pfau Library awarded grants to help preserve IE history,” Inside CSUSB, May 5, 2023
"Episode 55: Bridge That Carried Us Over – Marc Robinson,” SoCal Voices Podcast, February 17, 2022.
“February 3: Lifestyles with Lillian Vasquez,” Empire KVCR, February 3, 2022.
Breanna Reeves, “The Bridges that Carried Us Over,” The I.E. Voice, September 12, 2021.