My Reflection...

My Exploration

            After learning the demographics, history and issues in the African American community, I was afraid my journey was going to focus on negative aspects of the culture.  Most of my group’s research somehow related to racism, underrepresentation in higher education, over representation in the streets and various struggles.  When beginning my journey, I told my self to keep in mind that there are a lot of great ideas, food, music, stories, clothing, history, famous figures and successful people all from the African American community and not to get caught up in the negative aspects.  Throughout my journey I experienced an ongoing positive theme of accepting who you are and recognizing that your skin color does not limit or define you.

As I began planning my journey I told myself I was going to push myself out of my comfort zone and become acquainted with people I have never met.   I am from San Francisco where different cultures are represented in distinct communities.  However, this is not the case for African Americans in San Jose.  I began my journey at the African American Community Service Agency (AACSA), in hopes of being guided in the right direction.  After meeting with the Intern Executive Director, I realized this was not only the starting point of my journey, but also home base.  Milan Balinton, Intern Executive Director of the AACSA, was gracious enough to sit down with me on a couple of different occasions and explain the role of this organization in the San Jose African American Community.  This is where I learned about the Antioch Baptist Church, which is directly across the street from the AACSA.  I was lucky enough to meet Henry Gage Sr., member of the Antioch Baptist Church, and founder of the AACSA.  Through the AACSA website I also learned about and was able to attend a play, “Through the Eyes of Mary McLeod Bethune”, which portrayed several Civil Rights leaders and their role in African American freedom.   Meeting Milan really opened my eyes and got me thinking outside the perspective of a college student.  He was motivational in the sense that he is such a young man with so many projects, responsibilities and hopes for the community, not limited to the African American community.  He never thought he would attend college, let alone survive his suicidal thoughts growing up.  Now, he is a successful, African American, college graduate making differences in the lives of many people.  Becoming a multicultural teacher means you are willing to shift your perspectives as you gather information. My talks with Milan were not only inspiring, but made me think of how I am going to continue to learn new information and change my perspectives, only to better myself as a multicultural teacher.  This was just one of my first steps in the door, and I was happy about it.

One educator I met on my journey, Henry Gage Sr., also believed that multicultural teachers change their perspectives and should address inequalities in schooling.  Mr. Gage Sr. is a veteran Buffalo Solider, as well as a founder of the AACSA and had a wealth of knowledge to share.  His life in San Jose began because of the educational institutions Santa Clara County had to offer.  After living here and seeing very low numbers of graduates, he felt the need to become involved in the school system.  He attended fourteen years of board meetings and made changes to programs within East Side Union High School District’s schools.  He felt that inequalities and graduation rates needed to be addressed, to better the students and the entire community.  Tyrone C. Howard made me think of Mr. Gage Sr. and Jaime Escalante when he said, “Culturally responsive pedagogy embodies a professional, political, cultural, ethical, and ideological...teaching acts; it is centers in fundamental beliefs about teaching, learning, students, their families, and their communities, and an unyielding commitment to see students success becomes less rhetoric and more of a reality.”

Another person who was mentioned throughout my journey and given immense amounts of respect was Ms. Inez Jackson.  She left the segregated South and moved to California to be free of discrimination.  It wasn’t until she applied for a teaching position in San Jose, and was denied because she was a “Negro”, that she realized she has not escaped any kind of discrimination.  She said here in California segregation was not the issue; instead blacks were treated as though they did not exist.  She fought and fought until her voice was heard at school board meeting. She became the first black postal clerk in San Jose, and eventually founded the AACSA alongside Mr. Henry Gage Sr.  She created a library in the AACSA to give African Americans an equal opportunity at education and literacy.  Other libraries were still segregated or did not have books that African American students could identify with.  This is one of Milan’s biggest projects right now.  He wants to keep the Inez Jackson library and vision alive. He is in the process of partnering with the Martin Luther King Jr. library in hopes to reopen the Inez Jackson library. 

I am thankful that on this journey of mine I was able to meet and learn about successful and influential African American community members of San Jose.  This journey opened my eyes and inspired me to venture out into other communities.  I felt honored that I could meet with Milan and see what he truly does everyday.  His job is not easy, and his journey at the AACSA is filled with projects and tasks.  However, he takes it day by day and showed me that a small difference goes a long way.  That is something I am going to take with me as I become a teacher.  Even just being a resource or an open minded listener can help students more than it may seem.  There are also those who make huge differences in the community, like Ms. Jackson and Mr. Gage Sr.  These people have changed the community and allowed many to believe they too can be successful.  As a future multicultural teacher I will continue to be a life long learner and will not cut my journey short here.

Auntie Cheryl

My Beautiful Auntie Cheryl

Originally, Auntie Cheryl was going to be my starting point for this project, but I decided I rather challenge myself and get out of my comfort zone.  At the end of my journey, I thought it would be interesting to get my Aunt Cheryl's opinion about her ethnic identity and role in the African American community.  Auntie Cheryl was born in Oklahoma where she grew up in a segregated community.  She moves to San Francisco at age three with her mother and siblings. Her grandmother was similar to the women in "The Help", she was a housekeeper for other people's children.  She did not want this for her own , so she strongly pushed education, which was also pushed upon my aunt. My Auntie Cheryl's mother always told her that what other people say does not matter and that she has to work towards what she wants in order to be successful.


Auntie Cheryl said that discrimination was always present in her life, but she tried hard to ignore it.  She said dating people of the opposite color was always a huge issue and it was an even bigger deal when she married my Chinese uncle.  But, she remembered what her mother told her and did not let outside people's judgments bring her down.  She has even been followed in stores, because people assume she is black, therefore she steals.  She said she ignored the racism even though it was a slap in the face growing up because she knew the color of her skin wasn't everything.  Auntie Cheryl's mother pushed the importance of Civil Rights leaders and and told her children there is no excuse for them not to become successful. One thing that my aunt told me she used to do was play the game of code switching in school.  Not only would she get grief for being black, but she would also get comments for being "too white".  So, my aunt would try to talk more black and switch up her vocabulary.  This got old for her real fast and she realized she is not going to pretend to be someone she is not, instead she is going to be herself.  


My aunt's mother became the first African American Deputy Sheriff in San Francisco.  She was always a role model for her children, and allowed them to believe they were more than just their skin color.  My aunt said, part of growing up is accepting who you are and realizing that your skin color does not define you.  She also said that you need to have a strong sense of self to make it in typical American society and not to make excuses for yourself.  This is something that I saw throughout my journey in Milan, Mr. Henry Gages Sr., Ms. Inez Jackson, Mary McLeod Bethune, the other characters in the play, and in my Auntie Cheryl.  My Aunt listened to her mother, learned from past Civil Rights Leaders and became a successful African American woman.  She started out as a teacher and then became a principal.  Eventually, she became Assistant Superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District until she retired a couple of years ago.  She spends her free Sunday's singing in different Gospel Choirs all over San Francisco.

"Through the Eyes of Mary McLeod Bethune"

Through the Eyes of Mary McLeod Bethune is a play put on by San Jose Multicultural Artists Guild and Tabia African American Theatre Ensemble, including youth and young adults from San Jose. The play is a vivid depiction of the epic march of blacks from slavery to freedom. 

Mary McLeod Bethune

"Born on July 10, 1875, in Mayesville, South Carolina, Mary McLeod Bethune was a child of former slaves. A scholarship to Scotia Seminary in North Carolina in 1888 launched her career as educator and activist. Believing that education provided the key to racial advancement, she founded the Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute, which later became Bethune-Cookman College."- Biography.com Mary McLeod Bethune Biogrpahy

Mary McLeod Bethune is an educator and a civil and women's rights activist.  She is a child of former slaves and began her life picking cotton.  She strongly believed that education provided the answers to racial advancement.  The character of Ms. Bethune served as the narrarator of the entire play introducing other civil rights activists such as Martin Luther King Jr., Frederick Douglas, Billir Holiday, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman and many others.  Each character came out and performed either a scene, song or poem of how they played a role in fighting for equal opportunities among African Americans.


I enjoyed the play a lot.  I loved that it was primarily youth who performed and took on these powerful, influential roles of our past African American leaders.  I was one of very few non-blacks in the audience.  I think more than anything, the African American community was surprised but delighted to see people from other communities attending this play.  I found the play to be educational as well.  It refreshed my mind of how important these figures are to our history and how much of an impact they have made.  One thing that I really enjoyed during the play was the use of the drums. The drums were used throughout the entire play, in between scenes and during scenes.  From the beginning, the character of Ms. Bethune addressed the use of the drums how how important they were for slaves to communicate and how important they were to Ms. Bethune personally. I never knew how important music and drums were to African American slaves. Slaves would send each other messages and communicate through song and music.  This was a form of resistance as well as a way to communicate, since slaves were not even given the freedom to talk among one another.  

“For I am my mother’s daughter and the drums of Africa still beat in my heart. They will not let me rest while there is a single Negro boy or girl without a chance to prove his worth.”- Mary McLeod Bethune

Palm Sunday Mass at Antioch Baptist Church

I decided to attend Palm Sunday Mass at the Antioch Baptist Church.  I am used to attending Catholic masses where you aren't given the opportunity to speak much and interact with one another, so this was a very different mass for me.  When I first walked in the ushers and greeters were very welcoming and friendly.  I was not the only non-African American person in there, in fact there were a number of Hispanics.  Prior to attending mass, one of the Interim Reverends, Fannie Davis, told me that their community is mainly made up of Hispanics and Asians.  Despite the mixture of races, I did not feel uncomfortable attending mass.  More than anything I was happy the mass was more interactive, and involved with the people.  The Pastors were energetic and had a sense of humor that kept the audience entertained and engaged.  Everyone who made eye contact with me asked how I was doing and greeted me as if they knew me from somewhere.  This made me feel very comfortable and accepted.  I couldn't help but have a smile on my face.  

The Gospel Choir an Antioch Baptist Church's Palm Sunday Mass

I remember, during the Fellowship song everyone got out of their seats and begin walking around hugging and greeting one another.  This was not something I was familiar with at all.  People from the altar were coming to the main floor, pastors were greeting new members and old members, children were acknowledging one another.  It felt really good for all these people who don't even know me to sincerely hug me, shake my hand or ask how I am doing.  I felt equal and safe.  Another memory that stuck with me is the live music that took place at the mass.  This was also something new to me.  I absolutely loved hearing the choir sing, the pianist play and the drummer drum.  Something about loud drums, on a sunny Sunday morning at mass puts me in a good mood.  One elderly man had been a member of the Antioch Baptist Church community for over thirty years.  He was given a special time to say his goodbyes to the entire church.  He was old and very sad and men had to escort him to the podium.  He said that his heart bleeds because he loves his church that much.  As soon as the pianist hit the first key the elderly man burst into perfect song and began singing for the whole church.  It was amazing and something that really stuck with me.  This is when I realized how important song and music is in the African American Community.

Antioch Baptist Church

The Antioch Baptist Church has been a part of the San Jose community for well over one hundred years.  On August 2, 1893, a group of African Americans gathered in the home of Brother and Sister Henry Hawkins, in order to establish a Baptist Church of worship in the city of San Jose.  This gathering of men and women became the founders of the Antioch Baptist Church.  The Antioch Baptist Church has endured earthquakes, floods, the depression, wars, and the civil rights movement.  the Antioch Baptist Church is the first black Baptist Church established in San Jose.  After speaking with Milan and Mr. Gage Sr., I thought it was only right to visit the church, seeing how affiliated the AACSA and the Antioch Baptist Church are with one another.

Early Day Picture Dated 1893 of Antioch Baptist Church, San Jose

Similar to the AACSA, the Antioch Baptist Church also has several other partner and programs to reach the community.  They are accepting of everyone and make that very clear.  They also provide food drives for veterans, homeless and families who need extra support.  They also have a choir, Sunday school, Bible Study, Youth groups, women's and men's classes, and other opportunities to get involved.  

Antioch Baptist Church Present Day

Inez Jackson

Both Milan and Mr. Henry Gage Sr. spoke very highly of Ms. Inez Jackson.  Inez Jackson was church secretary for thirty-five years at the Antioch Baptist Church, across the street from the AACSA.  She and Mr. Gage Sr. were both members of the church and are both founders of the AACSA, as she was the person who discovered the vacant firehouse. 

San Jose Mercury January 5, 1959

In 1944, Ms. Inez Jackson gave up her job and life in segregated Oklahoma to move West where her husband was working on the shipyards.  All that she had heard was how California was free of discrimination.  Ms. Jackson was formerly working in a segregated school in Oklahoma and wanted to become a math teacher once she arrived in San Jose.  When she got to the school board they told her, "We don't allow Negroes to teach school." They offered her a job scrubbing the floors instead.  

"People had always talked about segregation in the South, but this was worse. California wasn’t supposed to be segregated and it wasn’t- they just eliminated a group of people. It was as if Blacks didn’t exist."- Inez Jackson

Ms. Jackson took the only job she could, which was picking prunes and working in the canneries.  Eventually, Ms. Jackson became San Jose's first black postal clerk along with many other accomplishments over the next forty-four years.  She also became the first black president of the YWCA, which is one of the largest and oldest women's organizations in the United States and one of the founders of the AACSA.     

“She is a backbone. One of the pillars of the San Jose community"- Former President of NAACP

Henry Gage Sr.

Henry Gage Sr.

After my second meeting with Milan, we had to cut short because he had a meeting right after with one of the AACSA's founders.  On my way out I was lucky enough to be introduced to and have a conversation with Mr. Henry Gage Sr.  As I sat down with Mr. Gage, he told me all about how he is a Buffalo Soldier and how he arrived in San Jose.  A Buffalo Soldier is one who served in the Army's 92nd Infantry Division, which was made up of African Americans and was the last racially segregated unit in the US army.  Buffalo Soldier is a term that Native Americans gave the black cavalry unit after the Civil War.  

The Buffalo Saga from  "Memoirs of a World War II Buffalo Soldier" 

"Memoirs of a World War II Buffalo Soldier"is a similar story Mr. Gage's recollection of being a part of a racially segregated US Army during WWII.  The story also gives an explanation of what a Buffalo Soldier is and what kind of ridicule and unjust treatment they endured."

Mr. Gage Sr. returned from the Vietnam War at the age of twenty-two in 1967.  He chose to retire in San Jose because of the educational institutions it had to offer, since he had four kids to educate.  After he retired, he realized the San Jose educational system was not up to par as he had hoped.  He spent fourteen years working for the East Side Union High School District trying to make a difference.  He told me he changed Foothill Continuation School because no one was graduating until he stepped in.  


In 1976, Henry Gage Sr. and about eight others formed the first board of the Antioch Baptist Church, across the street from the AACSA.  Mr. Gage and a few other members of the church at that time discovered a vacant firehouse, and created a community center for African Americans, which is now present day AACSA.  Ms. Inez Jackson was actually the person who discovered the firehouse and told Mr. Gage about it. The mission statements evolved from the Mexican American Heritage Plaza, which was just down the street.  At this time, every community would have a center for themselves, and this was the start of a new community. Mr. Gage told me that, after thirty years, the organization is still loose and not fitting his vision, but he is not going to give it up.  This is why he has meetings with people like Milan, to pass on his knowledge, visions, history and ideas.  


When Mr. Gage and I said our goodbyes he handed me his business card, as he is also an author.  He gave me two phone numbers to reach him on, and told me one was a "special phone number".  His explanation is as follows:
332 is the fighter group number of one of the two "Tuskegee Airmen"
25 is the average age of the pilots
66 is how many pilots there were total

Back side of Mr. Henry Gage Sr.'s Card

According to the U.S. Air Force, "The Tuskegee Airman were an elite group of African-American pilots in the 1940s. They were pioneers in equality and integration of the Armed Forces. The term  "Tuskegee Airmen" refers to all who were involved in the Army Air Corps program to train African Americans to fly and maintain combat aircraft. The Tuskegee Airmen not only battled enemies during wartime but also fought against racism and segregation thus proving they were just as good as any other pilot.  Racism was common during World War II and many people did not want blacks to become pilots. They trained in overcrowded classrooms and airstrips, and suffered from the racist attitude of some military officials. The Tuskegee Airman suffered many hardships, but they proved themselves to be world class pilots.  Even though the Tuskegee Airmen proved their worth as military pilots they were still forced to operate in segregated units and did not fight alongside their white countrymen."
Tuskegee Airmen

Tuskegee Airmen patch

Tuskegee Airmen

  

Soup Feed

Preparing the food.

Every second Saturday of the Month the African American Community Service Agency puts on a soup feed for anyone, primarily veterans and homeless. I figured this could be one way that i support Milan and get involved in the community.  The AACSA partners with American Legion, who is a nationwide organization serving veterans through various programs.  I volunteered to help serve and to see who really comes and utilizes this agency. There were two men in the kitchen cooking from 8am until about noon.  They made BBQ chicken, rice, beans, gravy and rolls.

Veterans and volunteers enjoying their meal.

Veteran enjoying his food after giving us a hard time for only having spoons and no forks.

The agency also has pantry for food that the collect to give away to families or individuals who are in need.  On Soup Feed days, the volunteers prepare food bags to give away.  Food bags include essentials such as water, fruits, vegetables, pre-made meal kits and several other generous offerings.  Safeway, Trader Joes and Mi Pueblo are some of those who donate food to the agency.  When I helped out it was just me and a few older Filipino ladies who were associated with American Legion.  We served the veterans and listened to them gossip about their old war days or different types of boats, guns and airplanes.  I was surprised that not as many people showed up as I assumed.  Only a handful of veterans came in, and no homeless.  There was ample food made to be served and given away, but there was not enough people taking advantage of the resource.

Food bags to be given away.

Muffins, asparagus and other food.

Salad kits.

African American Community Service Agency

African American Community Service Agency (6th & Julian, San Jose, CA)

This is where I began my journey.  I decided to go to the African American Community Service Agency hoping to meet someone who would direct me where to go in the community.  At first glance, the AACSA looks like an old, rundown building.  That is exactly what it is.  After a few visits, I finally got in contact with Milan Balinton, Intern Executive Director of the AACSA.  Milan was born and raised in San Francisco and moved to San Jose when he began attending San Jose State University.  His mother struggled with drugs and alcohol, which led Milan to suicidal thought throughout much of his life. Though, he did not have the g.p.a, he did have the tenacity to get into college.  After Milan convinced the Equal opportunity program of why they could allow him to attend San Jose State, he realized he had a mouthpiece and could help and convince others.  As a freshman, he joined a black fraternity and this is when he saw famous black men who were part of the same fraternity.  This is when he believed he could succeed for the first time.

Milan Balinton, Intern Executive Director of AACSA

The AACSA was founded in 1978 in order to preserve the history of African Americans in San Jose.  Milan has been working at the AACSA for a few years now.  He served on the board for a few years, became President of an African American fraternity and now has many projects on his agenda for the AACSA.  Upon meeting Milan i realized he was a positive, motivated, hard working, humorous man.  Milan says that the AACSA is meant to "create programs and open doors for young people, while taking care of elderly 'torch bearers'".  The "torch bearers" are the older generations who have a wealth of knowledge to be passed down to younger generations.  The AACSA has old facilities, staff, technology, resources and even an old library that hasn't been open for years.  The library was opened by a founder and educator, Ms. Inez Jackson, and right now Milan is in the process of working with the Martin Luther King Library to reopen it.  Milan is in charge of getting new computer programs up and running, reorganizing the food pantry, getting rid of old chairs and bringing in new chairs, updating resources used for referrals, all while creating programs, attending meetings, working with partners and serving the community upon several other tasks.  Milan has a lot on his mind and when speaking with him it was apparent he was planning out several projects in his head.  

Side view of the AACSA

Milan says that even though the organization is called the African American Community Service Agency, their mission is to engage all communities and to make sure that what happened to the African American community in the past doesn't happen to other cultures.  Educational health, mental health, physical health, social awareness, and leadership empowerment are all goals and values of the AACSA, according to Milan.  Milan did share with me that more Latinos use the AACSA as a resource center than African Americans.  His biggest challenge right now is trying to revise old programs and update everything so that is is accessible for all starting with the computer lab and creating more resources on a new web page.  One thing Milan told me he does is goes out to different agencies as though he was the individual seeking help.  Then, when it comes time to refer people places he can immediately tell them what paper work they may need done or what signatures they may have to get first.  This way he saves them time and they are not mislead or deterred in any kind of way.  He deals with people coming in and leaving in tears everyday and he expressed how much it breaks his heart.  Milan and the agency try to help out who they can as best as they can.  One woman came in in tears during one of my visits because the government was taking her house away for one reason or another.  She had no job, an injured back, no family, no medical/medicare and did not know where to go other than to churches and ministries, so she came to the AACSA.  Milan directed her where to go and who to talk to and lead her in the right direction.  Seeing how upset and helpless this was made me want to help in some kind of way.  Milan does have other staff, but most are older and need to be trained as resources and software are updated and others are college volunteers.

Issues & Agencies

Lack of Economic Opportunity

• According to The Center for American Progress, black men lead the unemployment surge, with an unemployment rate of 15.4 percent. This comes as a result of a range of barriers to employment, including disproportionate employment in vulnerable industries (auto and manufacturing) and labor market discrimination. Over a third of young black men ages 16 to 19 in the labor market are unemployed. In fact, a recent report found that 8 percent of black men have lost their jobs since November 2007.
• Less of a demand for hard labor jobs, such as labor needed at the old ship yards.

Racism

Left: Trayvon Martin
Right: George Zimmerman

• Referred to as "The American Dilemma".
• "Racial progress ultimately depends on our common understanding that we are all one nation, indivisible- that we sink or swim together, that black poverty impoverishes us all, and that black alienation eat at the nation's soul."- Abigail & Stephan Thernstrom, authors of American in Black and White
• It is clear racism takes place in many other races but we all know, and history tells us, that the most prominent struggle of racism deals with African Americans.
• Racism ties into many of the other issues and stems back into African American history.
• Treyvon Martin was a 17 year old African American boy living in Florida.  On February 26, 2012, he was walking to the liquor store and was shot and killed.  George Zimmerman, the community watch coordinator, claims there was a dispute between the two and that Martin looked suspicious.  On April 11, 2012 Zimmerman surrendered to authorities and was charged with second degree murder.
• On April 6, 2012 there was a number of fatal shootings upon African Americans in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Two men are accused of shooting five African American, three of which were killed.  'Both killers have past ties with African Americans, which is believes to have been part of their motives for such a crime. One of the killer's father was supposedly killed by a black man.

High Incarceration Rates

• In 2003 the New York Times reported that 12% of African American men ages 20 to 34 are in jail or prison, compared to 1.6% of similarly ages white men.  This is the highest rate ever recorded.
• The U.S. Justice Department compiled this statistic and also reported that 28% of black men were imprisoned at some point in their lifetime. 
• High incarceration rates means that a large percentage of black men cannot vote, because felons are stripped of the right to vote.
• Throughout the country’s history, African Americans have had a higher rate of imprisonment than other Americans.
• Limits African American voice in communities.
• Incarceration rate is so high due to an increase in drop our rates  and unemployment rates among African Americans.

High Dropout Rates

• In California in 2009, African Americans had a 37% dropout rate, while the other five socioeconomic subgroups remained at 27% or below.
• The State superintendent believes that an increase in budget cuts has eliminated programs that will help struggling and at-risk students stay in school.
• African Americans have a under representation in higher education and an over representation in dropouts.

Agencies

• The African American Community Service Agency is located in San Jose. It is the mission of the African American Community Service Agency (AACSA) to preserve the dignity and culture of a diverse African American Community and to provide services that promote full participation of African Americans of Santa Clara County in the general society.

• The Bay Area Black United Fund, located in Oakland, is  a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds for community-based agencies to ensure that the needs of African Americans and other communities-of-color continue to be met.
• Bay Area Black United Fund partners with parent centers, Boys and Girls Clubs, adoption agencies, alternative high schools, arts programs, AIDS projects/awareness programs and more.
• The100 Black Men of the Bay Area places a important emphasis on improving the health awareness of youth in our community.  In addition, the 100 Black Men of the Bay Area works to shield African American children from violence and harmful behaviors while instilling in them the principles of community building.
• The 100 Black Men of the Bay Area partners with other health related non-profit organizations and government agencies to promote preventative health strategies, conduct health screenings, and provide education on diseases that are prevalent in the African American community.
• The Silicon Valley Black chamber of Commerce's mission is to economically empower and develop the African-American as well as underserved communities.The San Francisco African American Chamber of Commerce (SFAACC) is one of California's most influential minority business organizations, representing and promoting African American business owners in San Francisco. Through advocacy and economic development, SFAACC is creating a firm economic base that supports the self-determination and survival of African American businesses.

History

California

• The arrival of Spanish colonists, participants in the Atlantic slave trade, brought along Africans and Indians to CA.
• Millions of African Americans were taken form their homeland and forced into slavery across the United States.
• In 1781, 26 of the first 46 settlers in Los Angeles were Black or Mulatto (black and white).
• In 1790, Blacks and Mulattos made up about 15% of the total San Francisco population and about 19% of the settlers in Monterey.  Baja, CA included 844 Spanish-speaking persons, 183 were Mulattos.
• Early African Americans lost their identity as Africans and became Californios and were later identified as Mulattos.
• In 1818 several African Americans arrived in California as members of the Bouchard expedition, an Argentinean effort to liberate Americans from Spain.
• Between 1821 and 1848 other African Americans arrived in California, many escaping U.S. vessels.
• Between 1852 and 1860 California’s African American population grew from 962-4,006.
• In 1850 CA was admitted into the U.S as a free state, but an extensive body of discriminatory legislation evolved in California, including the testimony restriction, which outlawed testimony by Blacks, Chinese and Native Americans against whites in court.
• In 1863 the Republican CA legislature removed discriminatory barriers in education and repealed the testimony restriction on 1851.
• In 1866, after campaigning for better schools throughout the Civil War, African Americans gained access to CA public schools with the exception that separate schools could be established along racial lines.
• In 1903 the Southern Pacific Railroad brought in almost 2,000 African American laborers to break a strike by Mexican American construction workers, doubling the African American population in LA and sparking interracial tension.
• It wasn’t until 1954 that Brown v. Board of Education of the U.S Supreme Court ruled that separate schools for black and white children were unconstitutional.
• In 1821 Mexico declared its independence from Spain and the Republic of Mexico was established on Nov 19, 1823.
• In 1826, Peter Ranne, a black man, was part of the first overland party to California, led by Jedediah Smith.
• Many free and enslaved people of African ancestry were part of the California Gold Rush, and many were able to buy their freedom and freedom for their families, primarily in the South, with the gold they found.
• In 1849 many African Americans traveled to California as slaves and freemen to perform hard labor. 

(According to the African Studies Department at San Francisco State University)

Bay Area

Men working hard on the railroads.

• In the late nineteenth century, many African Americans moved to Oakland and Richmond to work on the railroads.
• WWII and the emergence of shipyard industries was the major catalyst for African American migration to the Bay Area, specifically to Richmond and Oakland.
• During the California Gold Rush, Blacks found themselves in California but outside of the gold rush economy and confined to domestic work holding jobs as janitors, truck drivers, and bootblacks.

(According to the San Francisco African American Historical and Cultural Society & The Regents of the University of California)

San Francisco

• By the 1870s, Blacks secured an economic foothold in the hotel and restaurant industry in San Francisco, but in the 1870s white hotel workers in San Francisco threatened to strike unless all Blacks were fired from their jobs in that industry.
• The hotel owners fired all of their Black employees, and it would not be until 1963 that Blacks would organize a jobs campaign in the hotel and restaurant industry during the San Francisco Civil Rights Movement, to secure jobs for Blacks lost in the 1870s.
• The Black population in San Francisco remained small until World War II. In 1910, there were 1,642 Blacks living in San Francisco, with the number increasing to 4,000 by 1940.
• During the war the Black population in San Francisco increased to 40,000.
• When the Japanese American population in California and San Francisco was placed in concentration camps, Blacks began moving into the Fillmore district and into the Western Addition, and some Blacks held onto Japanese property during War and returned the property after war.
• The San Francisco Civil Rights Movement, which grew out of these terrible economic conditions, was inspired by the Southern Civil Rights Movement, the Cuban Revolution, and the African Independence Movement.
• The period from 1967 to 1968 was a period of rising influence of the Black Panther Party in Black communities throughout the United States.

(According to the San Francisco African American Historical and Cultural Society)

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Population

• Bay Area- 481,361 of 6.7% of total Bay Area population (2010 UC Census Bureau)
• San Jose- 30,242 or 3.2% of total Bay Area population (2010 US Census Bureau)
• According to the San Francisco Chronicle's " 25% drop in African American Population in Oakland", Oakland has 106,637 African Americans, still the second largest black population in the state. Only Los Angeles, with 347,380 black people, has more - but they make up 9 percent of the population.
• Population demographics for African Americans in the Bay Area show a recent decline in their overall population.

Location

• Oakland has the largest African American population in the Bay Area, followed by San Francisco and then Richmond.
• From 2000 through 2008, Oakland remained the city with the  largest  Black population, although there was a 25%  decrease in this population over this time period. San Francisco had  the second largest  Black population, followed by Richmond with an 18% decrease.
• Significantly, "historically black" neighborhoods are showing major decline in their African American population, in proportion to other ethnicities.

Education

Race/Ethnicity: African American/Black	Percent
Alameda County	12.0%
Contra Costa County	8.5%
Fresno County	5.2%
Los Angeles County	8.0%
Orange County	1.2%
Riverside County	6.3%
Sacramento County	10.2%
San Bernardino County	10.4%
San Diego County	4.0%
Santa Clara County	2.1%

• The two counties with the highest rates of African American students are Alameda county and San Francisco county.
• According to the American Psychological Association, African Americans have the highest drop out rate compared to any other race.
• According to Amy Azzam's Neglecting High Achivers, "In addition to socioeconomic realities that may deprive students of valuable resources, high-achieving African American students may be exposed to less rigorous curriculums, attend schools with fewer resources, and  have teachers who expect less of them academically than they expect of similarly situated Caucasian students."
• In both The San Francisco and Alameda county, the high school drop out rate for African Americans is consistently higher than the county averages .
• Alameda County Dropout Rate= 34.6%
• San Francisco County Dropout Rate = 37.6%

Socioeconomic Status

• Median income for African Americans in Alameda County- $39,978 (Kidsdata.org)
• Median income for African Americans in San Francisco County- $28,819 (Kidsdata.org)
• Single mother African American households in California- 51.5% (KIdsdata.org)
• Single father African American households in California- 11.4% (Kidsdata.org)
• Married African American households in California- 37.2% (Kidsdata.org)
• According to the American Psychological Associaltion, African American children are three times more likely to live in poverty than Caucasian children.
• Unemployment rate in Alameda County for African Americans- 11.1% (County average- 5.5%)
• Unemployment rate in San Francisco County for African Americans- 12% (County average-4.5%)
• According to the American Psychological Association, unemployment rates for African Americans are typically double those of Caucasian Americans. African American men working full time earn 72 % of the average earnings of comparable Caucasian men and 85% of the earnings of Caucasian women.

Religion

• National Statistics:
• Protestant- 75.7%
• Catholic- 6.5%
• Jewish- 0.2%
• Other- 7.0%
• None- 10.6%
• Major Bay Area Churches
• Abundant Life Christian Fellowship Church- Evangelical
• Bayview Baptist Church
• Bayhill United Methodist Church

(According to Association of Religion Data Archives)