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African Americans in the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)

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Ethnicity in the San Francisco Bay Area

The East Bay within the San Francisco Bay Area has historically had a significant Black population, in comparison to the other counties and cities nearby. Culture of the area has been shaped by the Black population.[1] Most notably the 1960s formation of the Black Panther Party happened in city of Oakland, which also served as the headquarters.

The two counties that comprise the East Bay Area, Alameda and Contra Costa, are estimated at 11% and 10% Black, respectively.[2] The largest city in the East Bay, Oakland, is estimated at 22% Black in 2022.[3]

African Americans in Oakland, California

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Migration and demographics

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The African Americans arrived in Oakland en masse between 1940 and 1970 (which is called the Second Great Migration), this was a result of Black people leaving the American South during the time of Jim Crow laws which enforced racial segregation.[1] Local jobs in the East Bay, particularly in the World War II era, such as shipyard work and railroad work offered Black Americans middle class wages.[4][5][6]

In 1980, Oakland, California had a 47% Black population (the 20th-century peak number); and by the 2010 census, Oakland had a 27% Black population due to out of state migration and other factors.[4][7] The Black population has declined since the 1980s, and since then the entire San Francisco Bay Area has experienced more affluent residents as a result of gentrification.[1]

Oakland, California culture

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In 1867, the Brooklyn Colored School was opened by teacher Mary J. Sanderson (later Mary J. Sanderson–Grases) from Sacramento, offering early public school education to African American students in what was Brooklyn, California.[8][9][10] The school was closed when it was annexed as part of Oakland in 1872.[8]

Oakland is home to Black rights organizations, such as the Black Panther Party (1966–1982).[4][1] Students Huey Newton and Bobby Seale founded the Black Panther Party in 1966 at Merritt College (then located at a former high school on Grove Street, now occupied by Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute), which emphasized Black nationalism, advocated armed self-defense against police, and was involved in several incidents that ended in the deaths of police officers and other Black Panther members. Among their social programs were feeding children and providing other services to the needy.[11]

From 1968 until 1979 the Bayviewer (Lennie's Bayviewer) magazine was published, a political and social magazine focused on the African American community in the San Francisco Bay Area.[12] Bayviewer magazine collection can be found at Oakland Public Library in the African American Museum and Library at Oakland.[12]

Marcus Books was founded in 1960 in the Fillmore District of San Francisco as one of the country's first Black bookstores and oldest African American bookstore in the United States. It closed its San Francisco location in 2014 (with plans to return), and has a second location at 3900 Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Oakland.[13][14]

Many Black celebrities grew up in Oakland, such as NFL player Marshawn Lynch,[15] and rapper MC Hammer.[16] Vice President Kamala Harris was born and raised in Oakland.[17]

Social issues and violence

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The BART Police shooting of Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old Black unarmed man occurred in 2009;[18] this led to many protests and riots in Oakland and in the Bay Area,[19] and a court settlement between the Grant family and BART.[20]

Notable people

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Frances Mary Albrier
Frances Mary Albrier (1898–1987) civil rights activist and community leader
Lydia Flood Jackson (1862–1963) businesswoman, suffragist and clubwoman
Lydia Flood Jackson (1862–1963) businesswoman, suffragist and clubwoman
Eddie "Rochester" Anderson (1905–1977) actor and comedian
Eddie "Rochester" Anderson (1905–1977) actor and comedian

Activists and community leaders

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Businesspeople

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Educators

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Entertainers

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Journalists, poets, and writers

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Musicians

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Politicians

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Sports

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Visual artists and designers

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Others

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Where to Eat, Stay, and Play in Oakland to Experience the City's Rich Black History". Condé Nast Traveler. 2023-02-13. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  2. ^ "QuickFacts Contra Costa County, California; Alameda County, California (V2022)". U.S. Census Bureau. 2022.
  3. ^ "QuickFacts: Oakland city, California (V2022)". U.S. Census Bureau. 2022.
  4. ^ a b c Kuruvila, Matthai (March 11, 2011). "25% drop in African American population in Oakland". SFGATE. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  5. ^ Tramble, Thomas and Wilma (2007). The Pullman Porters and West Oakland. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4396-3418-9.
  6. ^ Adams, Luther (2010-11-29). Way Up North in Louisville: African American Migration in the Urban South, 1930-1970. University of North Carolina Press. p. 15. ISBN 9780807899434.
  7. ^ "Bay Area Census – City of Oakland – 1970–1990 Census data". BayAreaCensus.ca.gov.
  8. ^ a b "The Brooklyn Colored School, (Oakland, CA) Opens". African American Registry (AAREG). Retrieved 2025-07-08.
  9. ^ Beasley, Delilah Leontium (1919). The Negro Trail Blazers of California. R and E Research Associates. p. 177.
  10. ^ "Mary Sanderson-Grases, Educator born". African American Registry (AAREG). Retrieved 2025-07-08.
  11. ^ Tyler, Carolyn (October 19, 2016). "Oakland Museum of CA celebrates 50th anniversary of Black Panthers". ABC 7 News. KGO-TV / The Walt Disney Company.
  12. ^ a b "Bayviewer Magazine Collection". Oakland Public Library. Retrieved 2025-07-02.
  13. ^ Woo, David. "Marcus Books, the Nation's Oldest Black Bookstore". FoundSF.
  14. ^ Brown, Lynn (July 23, 2016). "Preserving the Soul of Black San Francisco". Ebony. Archived from the original on October 7, 2023.
  15. ^ Ostler, Scott (February 3, 2021). "Marshawn Lynch explains his 'unmatchable' love for Oakland, how he's giving back". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  16. ^ "MC Hammer And The Oakland A's". WBUR. June 13, 2015. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  17. ^ Canon, Gabrielle (2021-01-20). "Kamala Harris: her home town watches as one of its daughters makes history". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  18. ^ Tucker, Jill. "No cuffs on man shot by officer, BART maintains". SFGATE. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  19. ^ "Protesters Mark Oscar Grant's Birthday". KTVU. February 27, 2009. Archived from the original on March 4, 2009.
  20. ^ "BART Reaches $1.3 Million Settlement With Oscar Grant's Mother". CBS San Francisco. June 28, 2011. Archived from the original on July 4, 2011.
  21. ^ Ervin, Keona (2004). "Albrier, Frances Mary". In Ware, Susan (ed.). Notable American Women, 1607–1950; A Biographical Dictionary. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. pp. 17–18. ISBN 067401488X.
  22. ^ Chris Thompson (November 13, 2002). "The Sinister Side of Yusuf Bey's Empire". East Bay Express.
  23. ^ "Brown, Elaine (1943- )". BlackPast.org. Archived from the original on May 8, 2011. Retrieved 2025-07-03.
  24. ^ Potier, Beth (March 13, 2003). "Abolish prisons, says Angela Davis: Questions the efficacy, morality of incarceration". Harvard University Gazette. Archived from the original on December 23, 2005.
  25. ^ Smith, Alonzo (2007-01-19). "C.L. Dellums (1900–1989)". BlackPast.org. Retrieved 2025-07-02.
  26. ^ Bobby Hutton bio from A Huey P. Newton Story.
  27. ^ "Brad Lomax - A Bridge". Disability Throughout History.
  28. ^ Rex, Kyle (2012-12-13). "Tarea Hall Pittman (1903–1991)". BlackPast.org. Retrieved 2025-07-03.
  29. ^ "Bobby Seale Biography". Biography.com. A&E Television Networks.
  30. ^ Scott-Zerr, Amy Marie (2015-08-10). "Fannie Franklin Wall (c. 1860–1944)". Blackpast.org. Retrieved 2021-03-23.
  31. ^ Coté, John (May 9, 2009). "Mother Wright, tireless advocate for poor, dies". SFGate.
  32. ^ Reiniche, Angela (March 7, 2023). "Alvin Aaron Coffey, California National Historic Trail". U.S. National Park Service. Archived from the original on March 10, 2023. Retrieved 2025-07-05.
  33. ^ Heyliger, Sean (2013). "Guide to the Harold Jenkins Photograph Collection". Online Archive of California (OAC).
  34. ^ Tompkins, E. Berkeley (1972). "Black Ahab: William T. Shorey, Whaling Master". California Historical Quarterly. 51 (1): 75–84. doi:10.2307/25157362. JSTOR 25157362.
  35. ^ "Elizabeth Thorn Scott Flood was born a free woman..." California State Library. Retrieved 2018-11-19.
  36. ^ Smith, Jessie Carney (1992). Notable Black American Women. VNR AG. pp. 320–323. ISBN 978-0-8103-9177-2.
  37. ^ Morris, Gabrielle (1984–1985). "Overcoming Barriers in Education, Ida Louise Jackson". Bancroft Library, Regional Oral History Office.
  38. ^ 1,000 successful Blacks. Ebony Magazine. 1973. ISBN 978-0-87485-060-4. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  39. ^ "Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, 71, Dies". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. March 1, 1977. Archived from the original on September 14, 2020. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  40. ^ "Delilah L. Beasley and the Trail She Blazed". CSUN University Library. 2019-02-14.
  41. ^ Asimov, Nanette (February 23, 2012). "Groundbreaking journalist Belva Davis to retire". San Francisco Chronicle.
  42. ^ Lambert, Bruce (1993-08-19). "Robert C. Maynard, 56, Publisher Who Helped Minority Journalists". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-07-03.
  43. ^ Elliot Fox, Robert (September 20, 2011). "About Ishmael Reed's Life and Work". Modern American Poetry website. Archived from the original on October 17, 2018.
  44. ^ "Relativity". Spin magazine. SPIN Media LLC. March 1997. p. 100.
  45. ^ Ankeny, Jason. "Biography: Edwin Hawkins". AMG. Retrieved May 8, 2010.
  46. ^ Walter, Shoshana (2012-02-19). "Anti-Violence Groups Hire Mentors With Criminal Records". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  47. ^ Lathan, Ryan (2023-02-17). "Celebrating Black History: Calvin E. Simmons (Conducting '73)". Curtis Institute of Music. Retrieved 2025-07-02.
  48. ^ Zamora, Jim Herron (October 7, 2005). "Dellums to run for election as Oakland mayor". SFGate.
  49. ^ California State Archives. "Inventory of the Elihu Harris Papers". Online Archive of California. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  50. ^ Gans, Jared (January 8, 2025). "Lee announces candidacy for Oakland mayor". The Hill.
  51. ^ Tramble, Thomas; Tramble, Wilma (2007). The Pullman Porters and West Oakland. Arcadia Publishing. p. 81. ISBN 978-0-7385-4789-3.
  52. ^ "Colored Lawyer Dies Suddenly". San Francisco Chronicle. July 7, 1902. p. 5. Retrieved 2025-03-22 – via Newspapers.com.
  53. ^ Allen, Annalee (2004-08-08). "Historic black politician is honored throughout Oakland". Oakland Tribune.
  54. ^ Thomas, Jr., Robert McG. (January 31, 1998). "Lionel Wilson, 82, a Mayor Of Oakland for Three Terms". The New York Times.
  55. ^ Slotnik, Daniel E. (2023-06-05). "Jim Hines, First to Sprint 100 Meters in Under 10 Seconds, Dies at 76". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
  56. ^ Wise, Mike (February 13, 2000). "Pro Basketball; All-Star Who Never Was Sees Life From Jail". The New York Times.
  57. ^ Thompson, Tim (February 19, 2001). "Bill Russell overcame long odds, dominated basketball". The Current. University of Missouri–St. Louis.
  58. ^ Gammons, Peter (November 6, 1989). "A HERO LIVES HERE A's ace Dave Stewart was the Series MVP, but in Oakland he's much more than that". Sports Illustrated.
  59. ^ Mcg, Robert (1996-11-10). "Toni Stone, 75, First Woman To Play Big-League Baseball". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  60. ^ Brenner, Keri (May 7, 2021). "Drake panel taps Archie Williams for new high school name". Marin Independent Journal. Archived from the original on 2021-05-08.
  61. ^ Thompson, Jerry; Deterville, Duane (2007). Black Artists in Oakland. Arcadia Publishing. p. 31. ISBN 978-0-7385-4725-1 – via Google Books.
  62. ^ "In Loving Memory of my Husband Hon. Wiley W. Manuel 30th Anniversary Aug. 28, 1927 - Jan. 5, 1981". East Bay Times. Legacy.com. January 5, 2011. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
  63. ^ Anderson, Gene (2015-12-07). Legendary Locals of Oakland. Arcadia Publishing. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-4396-5405-7.
  64. ^ "Printing and Publishing". Oakland Library. Retrieved 2025-07-02.
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