Series II: Professional Materials , 1930-2011; undated

This series is comprised of three sub-series.

Sub-series A: Sheet Metal Contracting contains documents and other material related to Ernest Smith's career as a sheet metal contractor including documents regarding bonding and sheet metal contractor licensing and employment; Sheet Metal Workers' Trust Fund and Sheet Metal Workers International Association material; and blueprints drafted by Smith while he was at Los Angeles City College.

Sub-series B: Teaching and Education contains material from Ernest Smith's career as an industrial arts and social studies teacher for Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), as well as his various roles as part of California Teachers Association (CTA), United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), and the National Education Association (NEA); and other documents related to teaching and education. Material in this sub-series includes: Smith's Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) personnel file; notes; certificates; letters and other documents from when Smith taught at John Muir Junior High School; certificates of appreciation; CTA, UTLA, NEA publications, reports, and ephemera; material related to University of California admissions data; information regarding inclusion and public school curriculum; and information related to Brown vs. Board of Education.

Sub-series C: Activism and Politics contains material from Ernest Smith’s time as a member of the Los Angeles Branch’s Executive Committee with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) where he also had a Life Membership; and his various positions and interests in politics and activism. Material includes: NAACP mission statement; reports; meeting minutes; Roy Wilkins Freedom Fund Awards dinner programs and invitations; convention programs; material related to the National Reparations Congress including meeting minutes, documents related to H.R. 40 Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African American Act; and documents regarding the Brown University Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice. This sub-series also contains material from Smith’s time volunteering for former President Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign; material from Smith senate campaigns; documents from his time as a coordinator for Yvonne W. Brathwaite’s California State Assembly campaign; Zephyr Democratic Club documents; certificates; and other material.