By Jennifer Murphy
bruin contributor
jmurphy@media.ucla.edu
The Charles E. Young Research Library Exhibits Committee
launched in February the online portion of a two-part exhibit
showcasing the life and accomplishments of a man many have called
the “most distinguished UCLA alumnus.”
While viewing the exhibit, students, faculty, and staff can
learn about Ralph Bunche, who graduated from UCLA in 1927 as
valedictorian and went on to become the first black person to earn
a doctorate in political science from Harvard University.
Bunche helped negotiate the first peace accord in the Middle
East and advocated civil rights in the United States, becoming in
1950 the first black person in history to win the Nobel Peace
Prize.
The online exhibit, which features scanned photographs of Bunche
throughout his life, compliments a physical exhibit showcased in
YRL this quarter.
The exhibit in the library’s main room contains original
documents, such as handwritten correspondences between Bunche and
civil rights leaders, world leaders and others.
A transcript of a phone conversation between Bunche and the
owner of a tennis club with an unstated “whites-only”
policy is also on display. The owner refused to let Bunche’s
son join the club because he was black.
Photographs of Bunche shaking hands with President John F.
Kennedy, marching arm in arm with civil rights leader Martin Luther
King Jr., and signing peace treaties with international leaders are
also part of the exhibit, which is the focus of an ongoing effort
to showcase the library’s collections.
Every quarter, the library hosts a physical exhibit featuring
some aspect of its collections, sometimes posting corresponding
materials online.
The YRL Exhibits Committee decides the subject of each exhibit,
based on ideas submitted by students, faculty and staff.
After accepting and reviewing proposals, the committee notifies
whoever suggested the chosen proposal and asks him or her to select
items to be included in the display. The proposer is also
responsible for writing explanations for selected items.
The planning committee suggests people make submissions at least
18 months before the actual display, providing time to research and
select items from the library’s collections that they wish to
be included.
Graduate students, faculty and university librarians have made
suggestions in the past, said library spokeswoman Dawn Setzer, who
is also the chair of the committee that plans the exhibit.
The Bunche exhibit was suggested by former University Librarian
Gloria Werner, who worked on the UCLA branch of a national effort
to recognize and commemorate the Bunche’s life.
The exhibit was compiled by a committee consisting of
bibliographers and librarians. Each quarter’s exhibit is put
together by a different group of people.
The library’s communications department allocates $2,000
per month to fund the materials necessary to showcase the exhibit,
such as mounting boards and adhesive supplies, Setzer said.
Previous exhibits include “˜”Was I Then a Monster
…?,'” which showcased in fall 2003 the life and works
of “Frankenstein” author Mary Shelley. Last
winter’s exhibit was “Blacklist in the Golden
State,” which detailed the effects of McCarthyism on
Hollywood’s movie industry.
The Bunche exhibit corresponds with the celebration of Black
History Month in February and an ongoing, international
commemoration of Bunche’s life that started last year and
will continue this year.
The library’s exhibit was not planned around the national
and worldwide celebrations but was complimented by them, Setzer
said.
“The exhibits were not scheduled to coincide with any
particular UCLA event but to enhance all of them, as well as to
stand on their own as a tribute to this remarkable man,”
Setzer said.