Melvin House Collection

Melvin Douglass House was born in 1940 to Louise House. At some point during his childhood, Melvin lived in the Oakland and San Jose areas of California, but had moved to Los Angeles by the time he was thirteen. Melvin attended Lincoln High School located in the Lincoln Heights area of Los Angeles where he was on the gymnastics team earning varsity letters and in 1957 won third place on the horizontal bar in the Southern Pacific Association (A.A.U.) Novice Gymnastic Championships. Melvin graduated high school in 1958, and that same year was accepted as a member of the United States Naval Reserve. From approximately 1962-1964, Melvin worked as a custodian at Whittier Health Center, while also attending Los Angeles Trade Technical College where he graduated in June 1964 with a certificate in Electrical Construction and Maintenance. Melvin worked for Square D Company from 1964-1965, and in 1966 earned a certificate from Southern California Edison’s Substation Operators School after completing a course in substation operating and telephone and radio communications. An employee ID card located in this collection indicates that Melvin worked for Southern California Edison in the 1970s.

Melvin also had interests in Rosicrucianism as a member of the Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis (Amore). Correspondence, articles, and other material in this collection indicate his interest and involvement in the Nation of Islam and Muhammad’s Mosque No. 2. Other documents in this collection allude to Melvin’s interests spirituality, religion, race, civil rights, discrimination, and politics.