California's Melting Pot

The story of California is the story of its diverse ethnic population. Rich records exist to trace the citizens of California in archival, library, museum, historical and genealogical collections. Learn more about these collections documenting the lives of the Chinese, Japanese, Mexicans, African Americans, and Native Americans in California. We will start with familiar resources like censuses and expand our search to include specific manuscript and special collections housed in archives and libraries throughout the state.