Black History in Oakland: Much more of it than you know (Reflection/Slideshow)
Slim Jenkins' nightclub, back in the day
As Black History Month rolled around again this year, I got to thinking about how much of that history resides in Oakland.
As of 2012, Oakland still remains, just barely, a predominantly black city – counting not only African Americans, but immigrants of African and Caribbean descent. Yet the city didn’t become so until after WWII when the GI Bill, which provided federal subsidies for homebuyers who had served in the armed forces, hastened the influx of middle-class black families from Southern states. Even so, Oakland has a rich history of African-American culture and civic contributions, dating back to the 19th century.
Yet little of that history is visible on an everyday basis.
If you look around town, you’ll mainly see street and landmarks signs named after wealthy non-black landowners – among them the Laney, Merritt and Peralta families – and their children. Nestled in among there, however, are a few nods to black folks:
The Calvin Simmons Theater; Mandela Parkway; Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way; Rashida Muhammad Street; Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building; Slim Jenkins Court; the Lionel J. Wilson Building and Lionel Wilson College Preparatory Academy. These names are important to remember, but simply remembering the names doesn’t tell us why it’s
important to remember them.
Rashida Muhammad was an Oakland neighborhood activist known for persuading drug dealers to relocate. Born Dessie Woods, she was sentenced to 22 years in a Georgia prison for killing a white man who allegedly tried to rape her, but ended up only serving five after Alice Walker brought attention to her cause in the book, “Living by the Word.”
Calvin Simmons was a classical music child prodigy who conducted his first symphony at age 11. In 1978, at the age of 28, he became the first African-American director of the Oakland Symphony Orchestra. He later died in a tragic canoeing accident in 1982.
Harold “Slim” Jenkins was a towering figure in Oakland’s black nightlife scene. His eponymous club on the Seventh Street strip - known as the “Harlem of the West” and a home for both jazz and blues - ran for four decades, from the ‘30s until the ‘60s.
Lionel Wilson was not only a three-term mayor and the city’s first African-American mayor, but also a former professional baseball player in the West Coast Negro Leagues. Wilson reportedly owed his election in large part to community organizing efforts by the Black Panther Party, who ensured a high African-American voter turnout, which carried the day for him in 1977.
Mandela Parkway and MLK Jr. Way were respectively named after South African anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela, first African head of state of that nation in the post-apartheid era, and the iconic American Civil Rights leader and champion of nonviolence, most famous for the Birmingham Bus Boycott and the “I Have a Dream” speech.
Ron Dellums will be remembered as a West Oakland native, Oakland’s third African-American mayor and a longtime Congressman. The federal building on Clay is named after him.
At the Jack London Square Amtrak station, there's a statue of Dellums’ uncle, C.L. Dellums, an equally, if not more important, historical figure. In the pre-Civil Rights era, C.L. Dellums worked alongside A. Philip Randolph as an organizer for the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and was responsible for negotiating with major railroad companies, fighting for better working conditions and higher pay for black workers. The elder Dellums also was active in the NAACP.
A good place to do research on Oakland’s largely uncelebrated black historical figures is the African American Museum and Library at Oakland, which keeps records on dozens if not hundreds of historical figures, dating back a century or more. The museum itself is historical, having begun as the East Bay Negro Historical Society in 1965, then becoming the Northern California Center for Afro-American Life in 1988 before becoming AAMLO in 1994 after partnering with the city of Oakland.
At AAMLO - currently located on 14th Street in an historic Carnegie building from 1902 - I read up on C.L. Dellums and other notable figures in Oakland’s black history archives. It’s slow, methodical work, but well worthwhile for anyone who wants to know about Oakland’s past lives.
Some of the other historical figures I unearthed include the deShields family, who built a distillery for eucalyptus oil in the 1860s, preceding the New Age natural medicine trend by 100 years; Eudora Proctor, a USO dancer, entertainer, radio personality and society maven; Virginia Stevens, the first African-American woman to graduate from the University of California, Berkeley’s, school of law; Royal Towns, Oakland’s first black firefighter (back in the 19th century); and Morrie Turner, the longtime Oakland Tribune cartoonist whose “Wee Pals” strip was like a more diverse version of Charles Schultz’ “Peanuts” (which only featured one black character, Franklin Roosevelt). Any of those people would be excellent candidates for having streets and/or buildings named after them.
By that same token, it would be nice to have a plaque - or something more than just a housing unit named after Jenkins with no explanation of who he was or why he’s a historical figure - on Seventh Street.
There’s also no official city signage commemorating Black Panther Party founder Huey P. Newton or humanitarian Mary Ann “Mother” Wright – although portraits of both were recently painted for a People’s Grocery project in West Oakland – along with Dr. King and Underground Railroad conductor Harriet Tubman. And though Oscar Grant III – a symbol of the need for police accountability – has been eulogized in numerous graffitos and impermanent plywood murals, and had Frank Ogawa Plaza unofficially rechristened in his honor by the Occupy movement, a more fitting tribute would be to rename the Fruitvale BART station where he was murdered after him.
Of course, Oakland’s black history is still being made, and shouldn’t solely be the province of the deceased. In addition to humanitarians, civil rights and social justice leaders, Oakland is known for its musicians and entertainers. Perhaps one day, the city will officially recognize this talent and designate Boots Riley Boulevard, MC Hammer Avenue, Too Short Street, Hieroglyphics Hall, Goapele Drive, Keyshia Cole Courtyard, PopLyfe Place, or Tony Toni Tone Terrace.
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Eric -- wonderful glimpse into the history of the names we see around us every day here in Oakland. BTW -- there is a statue of CL Dellums at the Jack London Amtrak station. CL was actually Mayor Dellums uncle -- for years I thought he was his father as well!
thanks for noting this deborah. i will make the correction.
This is a great piece, Eric. Like you said, much of Oakland's Black History is neglected, ignored, and unknown. Thanks for the unearthing. I have a couple "corrections" and/or points of contention though.
First, Oakland hasn't been a predominantly black city since, by estimates, the 1980s, when Blacks had majority on Council and OUSD. Still, due to dwindling revenues, the power was largely in hands of others.
As for that great migration West, people who took the railroads west were not middle-class. They came West for wartime and post-war jobs, and were pushed from the South due to Jim Crow. Those housing subsidies from the feds were given primarily to whites moving to south county suburbs. There were housing shortages in West Oakland, since the early 1900s, where blacks were segregated. It wasn't until the 50s/60s that Blacks could move to neighborhoods in East Oakland. Two great books on the East Bay are "American Babylon" and "Second Gold Rush."
There is a debate as to whether or not Joseph P. Laney was Black. My genealogical research has not shown that he is, the opposite in fact; however, staff and administrators at Laney College have maintained that he is, based on a descendant visiting the college and informing them so.
There was a plaque at 55th and Market Street noting that it was the location where the Black Panther Party started their campaign for a stop light (near Santa Fe school), but it was missing as of atleast December.
You also have Wiley W. Manuel (courthouse), Elihu Harris (state building), Carter Gilmore, etc. But like Harris said, "I'd rather own the building than have my name on it."
When you get a chance, go to the Oakland History Room and read up on Delilah Beasley's "Activities Among Negroes" columns in the Oakland Tribune. She was the paper's first black woman writer and quite the historian. Her book, "Negro Trailblazers of California" will provide a lot more information, like how Virginia Stevens won a contest to name the Panama Exposition in 1917(?) about the Fannie Wall orphanage organized by "colored" residents of Oakland. On 55th St, between Shattuck and MLK, the Fannie Wall Head Start is still there today.
Uhuru na Umoja from Tanzania, kaka, and asante sana for the inspirational post.
thanks Reginald for your post. nice to know you're following OaklandLocal all the way out in Tanzania!!!
thanks for pointing out some of the other historical black landmarks too.
as for the predominantly black tag, as of the most recent (2010) census, African Americans are still the most populous demographic in the town, but only by a couple of percentage points. i'm just talking population stats, not political power here. whole 'nother topic.
also, i didnt want to get bogged down on the Western Exodus tip, since that's an article or two in and of itself. One could note that the Maritime and port jobs attracted African Americans to Oakland (also Vallejo, Richmond, SF--Bayview/HuntersPoint) since the 30s, then spiked post-WWII. Post-WWII, btw, is pretty much the 1950s and 1960s.
There was definitely a black middle class prior to that in Oakland; as the AAMLO archives show, but as you say, it expanded in the 50s and 60s--until they built the freeways right in the middle of those neighborhoods, ghettoizing them. again, a topic worthy of a larger study.
Thank you Eric for your article. I would like to include my grand father John Edward Lewis and his sons John Henry Lewis (Light Heavyweight Champion of the World), Christy Lewis (Businessman), Paul Lewis(professional boxer, businessman) and Dr. Joel Lewis who were deeply involved in African American Society 1940's. My grand father and father owned and operated a professional boxing gym locaterd on 5th st. in West Oakland where many boxers learned their skills. The building had apartments upstairs, lunch counter and Saturday Nite Fish Fry! Dr. Joel E. Lewis was a general practitioner and ringside physician at both boxing and wrestling matches. One of the few doctors who made housecalls. The Lewis men were gentleman, businessmen, husbands, uncles and very devoted to family and actively participated in the NAACP. They chose to live in West Oakland because they loved the Black downtown, its people, its creativity, opportunity, its vibrance, its safety and the beautiful Black women they married. The Black downtown was self sufficient...over two thousand African American owned business...grocery stores, bowling alley, restaurants, real estate offices, clothing shops, Milk and grocery delivery services, barbarshops...The destruction of the Black downtown was systematic and deliberate...for reference: Flatlands newspapers, 'No There There' by Rosenburg, the Elevator newspaper. Oakland's Merritt College had the first Black Studies Dept. (Sid Walton), and Oakland Technical had the first BSU at a high school.
Joan, thank you so much for sharing the story of the Lewis family. Your comments speak to the fact that there is so much rich history which needs to be more widely known.
"The Black downtown was self sufficient...over two thousand African American owned business...grocery stores, bowling alley, restaurants, real estate offices, clothing shops, Milk and grocery delivery services, barbarshops...The destruction of the Black downtown was systematic and deliberate.."
That is a very poignant and salient observation which makes me want to research this topic further. Again, thank you!
Great article Eric, thanks for this contribution. I'm just now reading because I saw the article highlighted as one of OL's most read stories.
I'm unsure when the black population ceased to be the largest ethnic/racial group in Oakland but Kaka Reggie is correct when he says Oakland isn't a predominately black city. So thanks for the thorough fact check.
I'll add this
I'm not sure where you got this from Eric, "the most recent (2010) census, African Americans are still the most populous demographic in the town"
According to the census bureau's 2010 report on Oakland. The TOWN is roughly 34% white, 28% Black, 14% Asian, and 25% Hispanic (this won't equal 100% because technically speaking Hispanic is not a racial or geographic classification, hence the term Hispanic White)
You can find this information using the American Fact Finder
2010 Demographic Profile Data
Cue, one problem with those numbers is they overlap. For example, when you plug in the Latino/Hispanic numbers--which you omitted altogether--that's 25.4% right there. add 28% black, 34.5% white, and 16.8% Asian, and your total is 104.7 %. Obviously, that can't account for 100% of the population, since you're over by almost 5 percentage points.
Digging even deeper, if you look at the "demographic profile" in the 2010 census data of people who identify as "white alone," "black alone," etc., the numbers shift significantly . Now you have 27.3% black, 25.9% white, 25.4% Latino/Hispanic, and 16.7% asian. this may be closer to what we actually see in Oakland.
In other words, according to the latest census figures, you only have a white majority in Oakland if you include people who identify as white in addition to other ethnicities -- which is confusing IMO, especially considering historical definitions.That's almost backwards in a way: "one drop of white blood means you're officially white!" Yeah, tell that to all the creoles, willya? LOLz.
In other words, if you're counting some multicultural/multiethnic people as "white," then, yes, Oakland is a majority-white city. But otherwise, it is (still) predominantly black, with almost equal numbers whites and Latinos, followed by Asians and other ethnicities.
Remember, statistics in and of themselves are not absolute. They still have to be interpreted within context.
There is no majority or predominant ethnic group in Oakland, i.e., 50+1 percent. There is a plurality reflected in the 27.3% black, 25.9% white, 25.4% Latino/Hispanic, and 16.7% asian demographic statistics. That neither adds to nor takes away from African-American history and contributions to Oakland. Historically West Oakland did not become majority Black until the late-1940s after the end of World War II. I think the commercial and entertainment heart of the West Oakland was purposely destroyed and certainly reflected the lack of Black power at the time. Also destroyed in the same period was the thriving West Oakland Mexican-American community which stretched several blocks either side of 7th Street from about Market to Jefferson Streets. This pushed African-Americans into parts of East and North Oakland, and Mexican-Americans into East Oakland. I was born in Oakland in 1939 and lived through all this from my "perch" on 35th Street between San Pablo and Market.
Eric, I see your point about how stats can be interpreted various ways. Let's be clear though, I didn't "omitt" anything. That's the U.S. Census Bureau's categories for RACE (not mine). and accroding to the U.S. Census Bureau Latino/Hispanic isn't a recognized "racial" category.
So when asked, what is your race? 34% say white and as confusing as it may appear, I do count latino's that report their race as "white" as white. Since Latino includes people from mexico as well as people from the dominican republic the race question is important. Some are White and some are Black. It looks like the Latinos in Oakland choose White. And I understand that, when given the option, Latino's will choose Latino as their primary identity over black or white.
This distinction over whether Oakland is still a black city is important. We could use either set of stats 34% white, 28% black, 17% Asian OR 26% white, 27% black, 25% Latino/Hispanic, and 17% asian and the reality doesn't change.
just like other cities with historically significant black populations, Oakland is experiencing a rapid gentrification of it's black community. So when we are talking about the reality people see, I choose the 34%, 28%, 17% stats to highlight that gentrification.
Choosing the "plurality approach" paints a false multicultural and diverse, picture of Oakland. When in reality, the diversity is just a transition period from Black Oakland to White Oakland.
A similar process happend in deep East Oakland from 1950-2000. Post WWII witnessed white flight from Oakland to suburbs. As Black people moved to previously white areas, the communities appeared to be diverse, but by the early 2000s many of those white families were gone from deep East Oakland and the neighbohoods ended up with majority black populations.
And I hear you when you say the latino/hispanic race debate is confusing. At the heart of this confusion is the fact that race is a social construction with no biological substance created by Europeans to justify white supremacy and black inferiority.
accroding to the U.S. Census Bureau Latino/Hispanic isn't a recognized "racial" category.
so brown aint down, according to the Man? that dont surprise me.
It looks like the Latinos in Oakland choose White.
Er, um, not very comfortable with this statement
Yes sir that's correct the man says Brown is not down, at least when it comes to race.
For the census bureau you either white, black, asian, or other. then you can add your ethnicity, like asian hmong, black youruba, black dogon, white hispanic, Afro-latino, etc...
and, I agree
"it looks like latinos in Oakland choose white" is an uncomfortable statement and a reality.
Here's the nuances...
there are 99,000 people in Oakland who identify as Hispanic/Latino
of that 99,000
34,000 chose "white" as their race and
52,000 chose "other" as their race (2,800 said "black" was their race)