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UCLA Library Preservation, with support from the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation, is digitizing the audiovisual materials and photographs in the Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company records. In 1925, when William J. Nickerson, Jr., George A. Beavers, Jr., and Norman O. Houston founded the Golden State Guarantee Fund Insurance Company, few opportunities existed in Los Angeles for African American residents to purchase insurance – the result of prohibitively high rates and other discriminatory practices.
The Company's entry into the field not only allowed more Black residents access to insurance, but also created job opportunities in Los Angeles and other cities as the business expanded. From the beginning, Golden State Mutual executives documented the Company's history (and that of African Americans in California history) using a variety of media formats, particularly, photography, recorded sound, moving images, and artwork.
Scenes of the Home Office, recreational gatherings, and company leadership retreats are among the more prominent themes in the collection.
The Home Office was a particular point of pride for Golden State Mutual and appears often in Company photographs and media productions. Designed by renowned architect Paul R. Williams, the Home Office in the West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles routinely served as a venue for Company and community gatherings.
Throughout its nearly eighty-five years of business, Golden State Mutual displayed a commitment to community service, often hosting tours of its Home Office and assorted District Office locations.
The moving image productions, recorded sound, photographs, and artwork are a testament to the commitment of Golden State Mutual to both its staff and to the larger community. The corporate films and photographs also highlight the pivotal role that the Golden State Mutual Public Relations Department played in shaping the Company's corporate identity. Home movies that capture Home Office construction and the installation of the two-panel "Negro in California History" murals completed by Hale Woodruff and Charles Alston are prime examples of this strategy.
Through the generous assistance of the National Film Preservation Foundation, a small group of Golden State Mutual films were digitized in 2015 and are currently accessible via the UCLA Digital Library. We invite you to preview a selection of the available content, and encourage future visits as additional materials from this historic collection are digitized.