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CAAM mourns the passing of the Museum’s founding executive director, former foundation director, and passionate booster, Aurelia Ruth Roberts Brooks, who passed away on May 11, 2021 at the age of…In Memoriam: Aurelia Brooks
California African American Museum groundbreaking ceremony, 1983.. Photo: Guy Crowder. Courtesy the Tom & Ethel Bradley Center at California State University, Northridge
CAAM mourns the passing of the Museum’s founding executive director, former foundation director, and passionate booster, Aurelia Ruth Roberts Brooks, who passed away on May 11, 2021 at the age of ninety. Brooks, a collector and longtime champion of the arts, was a tireless advocate for the creation of what would become the California African American Museum (CAAM). She was one of several community members who, along with key elected officials, lobbied for years for the creation of CAAM—the first African American museum of art, history, and culture fully supported by a state. We celebrate her vision and legacy.
Image, L to R: Ernani Bernardi, Aurelia Brooks, Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, and others.