Contributions of local African Americans
extended to state and national politics as
well. Del Paso Heights native Grantland
Johnson enjoyed a successful and far-
reaching career in city, county, state, and
national politics. Driven by a desire to
dedicate his life to public service and
mobilizing people for change, Johnson’s path
to a career in politics began as a leader of the
Black Student Union at American River
College, inspired by the work and teachings of
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X.
While studying for a degree in government at
California State University, Sacramento, he
was mentored by his professor Joe Serna, Jr.,
who was later elected city councilman and
then mayor. In the late 1970s and early
1980s, he gained experience serving on the
Sacramento Regional Transit board and as a
member of the lieutenant governor’s task
force on postsecondary education and the
governor’s task force on public investment.
He won election to serve as the city councilmember for his home district of District 2 in 1983, beating out incumbent Blaine Fisher. During his term, he helped to establish the city’s Economic Development Department and Neighborhood Services Department. Three years later, he was elected county supervisor. He was reelected to serve a second term in 1990. In 1993, Johnson
293 Manuel Valencia, “New Councilwoman – Rough, Frank, Callie Carney ‘Tells It Like It Is!,’” Sacramento Bee, 28 December 1975, 21. 294 “The Only Proposition,” Sacramento Bee, 2 November 1979, 25.
Figure 75. Grantland Johnson during his term as a
city councilman in 1985. Source: Center for
Sacramento History, Suttertown News Collection,
1995/026/0474.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 128 June 2023
left local politics to serve in President Bill Clinton’s administration as the Western regional director for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Following federal service, Johnson was appointed to join Governor Gray Davis’s cabinet as director of the California Health and Welfare Agency, the first Black man to hold the position.295
These individuals paved the way for other African American individuals who were later elected and have served distinguished terms in local, state, and federal politics in the decades following the 1970s and 1980s. Among these individuals were Sacramento native and former NBA basketball star Kevin Johnson, who became the city’s first Black mayor when he was elected to office in 2008. He remained in the position until 2016.
295 Robert D. Dávila, “Leader Praised As A Conciliator,” Sacramento Bee, 20 August 2014, A1-A2.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
Photograph: Military servicemen at the Zanzibar Club (undated). Source: Keith Burns Collection.
ARTS, CULTURE & RECREATION
Circa 1839-1980
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
Photograph: Military servicemen at the Zanzibar Club (undated). Source: Keith Burns Collection.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 128 June 2023
THEME: BLACK ARTS, CULTURE & RECREATION IN SACRAMENTO, CA. 1839-1980
Throughout the city’s history, Sacramento’s dynamic African American community has led rich, multi-faceted lives that included an array of fully realized artistic and cultural expressions, social activities, and other recreational pursuits. These activities provided a social and cultural outlet for Black residents and fostered opportunities for strengthening interpersonal connections both within the African American community and with the wider population of Sacramento and beyond.
In spite of its relatively small size, Sacramento’s African American community has produced an abundance of multidisciplinary high achievers in the arts, culture, and athletics over the course of its history. Over time, the community’s growth and increasing cohesiveness, forged partially by discriminatory housing practices that concentrated the Black residents into specific neighborhoods, created a strong sense of community pride and identity that propelled a sustained fight for greater opportunities, particularly for the community’s youth. At the grassroots level, strong and supportive church and community organizations provided invaluable support for youth activities that incubated the talents of local children. During and after the civil rights movement of the 1960s, these local efforts were bolstered by federal and state government efforts to desegregate schools, as well as increased funding for artistic and athletic opportunities for underserved communities. These forces allowed talented Black artists and athletes to compete and excel in larger, more inclusive settings, reach greater audiences, and achieve wider success.
The following section provides a brief overview of some of the ways in which Sacramento’s Black residents contributed to the diversity and vibrancy of the arts, culture and recreation activities in the city during the 19th and 20th century, with the recognition that time and research constraints make it difficult to fully and comprehensively describe the complete scope of these contributions.
Music, Theater & Fine Art
The performance and enjoyment of music and theater in all of its expressions and iterations have been a vibrant part of Black life in Sacramento since the 19th century. The roots of Black musical theater in the United States trace back to performances given by enslaved African Americans for the amusement of their Southern enslavers in the early 19th century. These performances evolved into the minstrel show, which typically included joke-telling, dance, and Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 129 June 2023
music based on African American spirituals and folks songs. By the early 1830s, the minstrel show was appropriated by white performers who performed bawdy, disparaging caricatures of African Americans in blackface. Their performances introduced white audiences to stereotypes of the ridiculous, "happy-go-lucky," uneducated "Negro" and became, in some cases, the primary way in which many white Americans understood or experienced Black life and culture.
Such blackface minstrel shows dominated the popular American music scene during the mid- to late 19th century and became the foundation for modern musical theater. By the 1870s, African Americans began to push back and reclaim their place on the stage through productions with Black subject matter, reworked treatments of minstrel shows, concert recitals of African American spirituals alongside Western classical music pieces, and other innovative music and theater performances.296
One of the most significant examples anywhere in the United States came out of Sacramento.
Sisters Anna Madah Hyers and Emma Louise Hyers were raised in Sacramento and received their musical training in San Francisco. The sisters first performed at the Metropolitan Theater in Sacramento in 1867 at the ages of eleven and nine, respectively. Managed by their father, Samuel Baltimore Hyers, they were quickly recognized for their extraordinary singing abilities and performance of Western classical concert music. In 1872, they traveled to Boston to perform at the World Peace Jubilee, the first major musical production in the United States where interracial performers shared the same stage. The Hyers Sisters became internationally renowned musical and theatrical stars whose talents took them across the United States, making them the first known African American women to succeed as national, touring concert- opera artists.297
After achieving popular success as performers, the sisters turned their attention to using their talents to uplift the African American community. The shift in their careers reflected the sisters’ upbringing in an atmosphere of growing social consciousness among African Americans during the turbulent Reconstruction era of the 1860s and 1870s. During the mid-1800s, Sacramento was a hotbed for African American activism, while San Francisco was home to the oldest African American community in the state, including many leading Black businessmen, financiers, and activists, as well as Black poets, artists, actors, and writers. Enabled by their success and inspired by their surroundings, the sisters formed a theater company, the Hyers Sisters
296 Carson Anderson, “Minstrelry and the Evolution of Musical Theater During the Mid-to-Late 20th Century,” October 2022; Eileen Southern, “The Origin and Development of the Black Musical Theater: A Preliminary Report,” Black Music Research Journal, Vol. 2 (1981-1982), Center for Black Music Research – Columbia College Chicago and University of Illinois Press: 1-14. 297 Susheel Bibbs, “Voices for Freedom: The Hyers Sisters’ Dream, Change, and Legacy,” sponsored by LHF, Inc. (Sacramento, CA: M.E.P Publications, 2022), 1.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 130 June 2023
Combination, in San Francisco in 1875 to produce their own musical dramas. The Hyers Sisters’ productions became part of a national movement of Black resistance performances that portrayed the Black experience with respect and humanity, thereby challenging the derogatory stereotypes of African Americans commonly portrayed in the popular minstrel shows of the period. Their first major production, Out of Bondage (1876), was one of the earliest dramatic works performed by African Americans that sensitively portrayed the story of enslaved African Americans. Their second, Peculiar Sam; or, The Underground Railroad (1879), was a slavery-to- freedom epic that contained jubilee songs, spirituals, and classical concert music. It was the first play written by an African American female and performed by an all-Black cast. Their next play, Urlina, the African Princess (1879), was the first known African American play set in Africa, an early expression of Black pride that marked the beginning of Black professional artists using their skills to celebrate their African ancestral roots.298 Following their successful careers, the sisters eventually retired back to Sacramento by 1900.299
298 Jocelyn L. Buckner, “’Spectacular Opacities’” The Hyers Sisters’ Performances of Respectability and Resistance.” African American Review 3.
No. 3 (Fall 2012): 309-323.
299 Burg, "From Civil War to Civil Rights: Black Sacramento in the Late 19th and Early 20th Century.”
Figure 76. Anna Madah Hyers (ca. 1880). Source:
Miriam Matthews Photograph Collection, OpenUCLA
Collection.
Figure 77.Emma Louise Hyers (ca. 1880). Miriam
Matthews Photograph Collection, OpenUCLA
Collection.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 131 June 2023
Opportunities to make a living as a graphic artist
were virtually nonexistent for Black men and women
in the 19th century. A rare exception was Grafton
Tyler Brown, a gifted graphic artist, lithographer, and painter who was born free in Pennsylvania in 1841
and earned a good living as a commercial artist,
producing advertising bills, birdseye views of cities
and towns, banknotes, and certificates of stock.
Brown received no formal art school training and
reportedly mastered his craft as a lithographer
under the tutelage of Charles Conrad Kuchel, who
moved from Philadelphia to Sacramento in 1853.
Though Brown was only in Sacramento from
approximately 1853 to 1861, that period was
formative in his development as an accomplished
artist. In 1859, “the remarkable quality of [Brown’s]
watercolor paintings was first noticed” by the
Sacramento Union newspaper. In 2018, the
Pasadena Museum of California Art held an exhibit
of Brown’s art, titled “Grafton Tyler Brown; Exploring
California.”300
Exposure to the national arts and culture scene increased during World War II as a result of the influx of Black military servicemen and women stationed at the nearby military bases and the arrival of new residents from different parts of the country in the 1940s and 1950s. After the war, Sacramento’s easy-going lifestyle and its better-than-average economic opportunities for skilled African Americans convinced many Black servicemen to permanently settle in the city.
Expanding employment opportunities during the postwar period included not only professional careers as dentists, lawyers, or physicians, but also work as singers, actors, comedians, and increasingly jazz and blues musicians.301 Because musicians were required to be union members to play in Sacramento’s nightclubs, Black musicians were able to make a living in Sacramento and enjoyed standardized wages and working conditions that other professions did not experience.302
300 Pasadena Museum of California Art, “Grafton Tyler Brown: Exploring California,” exhibition brochure, 2018. 301 Caesar, ”An Historical Overview of Sacramento’s Black Community, 1850-1980,” 166. 302 Burg, Sacramento Renaissance, 48.
Figure 78. Grafton Tyler Brown at his studio in
Victoria, British Columbia (1883). Source:
Smithsonian Institution Archives.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 132 June 2023
With the rising popularity of jazz and blues in
the 1940s and 1950s, a circuit of local jazz clubs
with Black owners and interracial crowds was
established along Capitol Avenue in the West
End. The clubs often paired local jazz musicians
with national touring acts on the “Chitlin Circuit.”
The clubs were housed inside existing buildings,
some of which were purchased at bargain rates
from Japanese residents who had been forced
into internment camps during the war, as well
as entirely new or remodeled venues.303 The
Eureka Club at 326 ½ L Street, operated by
Charles Derrick, was a popular venue for live
music and dining during the Prohibition era of
the early 1930s.304 The Zanzibar Club at 530 ½
Capitol Avenue, owned by Isaac and Louise
Anderson and William “Nitz” Jackson, and the
Mo-Mo Club at 600 Capitol Avenue, owned by
brothers Alex and Don “Hovey” Moore, formed
the core of Sacramento’s Black entertainment
night spots in the 1940s and 1950s. The clubs
hosted national, regional, and local Black talent,
including many of the most prominent Black
musicians of the period, including Count Basie,
Dinah Washington, Duke Ellington, Dizzie
Gillespie, Cab Calloway, and many more.305
Other jazz clubs, such as the Congo Club at 320
Capitol Avenue, the Stag Club at 1120-1122 4th
Street, the Mel-O-Dee Club at 908 11th Street,
and the Clayton Club beneath the Hotel Marshall at 1126 7th Street (now the Hyatt Centric hotel) contributed to Sacramento’s jazz scene.306 Local musicians also formed close relationships and deeper collaborations during casual weekly jam sessions held at other
303 Burg, Sacramento Renaissance, 31-33.
304 William Burg, “West End Jazz,” Midtown Monthly, March 14, 2012, accessed April 26, 2023, http://www.midtownmonthly.net/music/west- end-jazz/.
305 Caesar, ”An Historical Overview of Sacramento’s Black Community, 1850-1980,” 147-148. 306 Burg, “West End Jazz,” Midtown Monthly.
Figure 79. The Congo Club (1955). Source: Center
for Sacramento History, Ernest W. Myers Collection,
1989/041/1479.
Figure 80. Advertisement for a performance at the
Mo-Mo Club (1948). Source: Sacramento Bee, 21
February 1948.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 133 June 2023
locations, including the ODES Hall (also known as Portuguese Hall) at 6th and W streets.307 Together, these venues and events created a vibrant environment for Black musical entertainment and expression.
Figure 81. Black military servicemen at the Zanzibar Club (undated). Source: Collection of Keith Burns in “Historic Offers Webinars on Sacramento’s Black History,” Sacramento Bee, 29 July 2020: A4.
Figure 82. A jazz performance at the Mo-Mo Club (1952). Source: “Colorfornia Visits California’s Capitol City,” Colorfornia: The California Magazine 1, no. 4 (1952): 14-22.
307 Oral History of Vincent “Ted” Thompson, by Clarence Caesar, 1984, Sacramento Ethnic Communities Survey Collection, Center for Sacramento History.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 134 June 2023
Jazz clubs remained popular until the late 1950s when the redevelopment of the West End forced many to close or relocate. At the same time, the rising popularity of rhythm and blues began to supplant jazz as the most popular form of Black music. The Mo-Mo Club reopened at 2963 35th Street in Oak Park. Meanwhile, to accommodate the much larger crowds that rhythm and blues shows attracted, concert promoters began to rent larger facilities, such as the Memorial Auditorium, for prominent touring musicians.308
As with other facets of Black life, local Black churches in Sacramento provided an early foundation and outlet for musical expression through the performances of their choirs at weekly services and other special events. Without a population large enough to support a purpose-built performance venue of its own, the churches were often used to host musical and theatrical performances. St. Andrews AME’s church building, in particular, appears to have been a popular destination. Perhaps the most successful local choir, the Voices of Inspiration, was founded in 1959 by real estate developer William H. Thompson. The choir started when eight to 10 boys came to Thompson to start a social club and within four years developed into
308 Burg, Sacramento Renaissance, 168.
Figure 83. Teenage members of the choir at St. Andrews AME (1928). Source: Center for Sacramento History, Clarissa Hundley Wildy Collection, 2000/061/026.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 135 June 2023
the most popular youth social club in the Oak Park neighborhood, with a choir of 125 teenagers from throughout Sacramento between the ages of 15 and 19. Most of the children had no experience singing when they joined. The choir met weekly at Shiloh Baptist Church and primarily sang religious music, including classics, spirituals, and gospel songs. A youth group as well as choir, weekly meetings also included planning for social events, discussing community problems, listening to speakers, and charity work.
In 1959, the choir received national recognition when revered gospel singer Mahalia Jackson offered the group the opportunity to sing with her at her performance at the Memorial Auditorium. Afterward, members remembered Jackson praising the choir as “the best singing group of teenagers she had ever heard.” The Voices for Inspiration propelled their success to a performance at the national convention of the NAACP in Atlanta, Georgia. “It’s a source of great pride to these kids to be wanted and appreciated,” Thompson said as the choir gained national attention in 1962.309
Figure 84. The Voices of Inspiration Choir singing with gospel singer Mahalia Jackson at the Memorial Auditorium (1959). Photograph courtesy of Marcia Jones-Wylie.
A well-known and respected Jazz bassist, Rufus Reid graduated from Sacramento High School, where he played trumpet in school bands. After completing service in the U.S. Air Force, he turned his attention to pursuing a career as a professional bassist and trained with renowned bassists and instructors at the Seattle Symphony, Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and the Chicago Symphony. His career as a band leader, sideman, and recording artist led him
309 Aaron Epstein, “Youths Flock to Singing Group,” Sacramento Bee, 25 March 1962.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 136 June 2023
to play and record with many of the top musicians in modern jazz. The extensive list includes giants such as Dexter Gordon, Kenny Burrell, Art Farmer, Eddie Harris, Stan Getz, Lee Konitz, J.J.
Johnson, and Donald Byrd. Reid has also won many awards and accolades for his involvement in promoting jazz through community and academic endeavors, including the International Association of Jazz Educators’ Humanitarian Award (1997), Down Beat Magazine’s Achievement Award for Jazz Education (1998), and International Society of Bassists’ Distinguished Achievement Award (2001).310
Another talented musician to come out of Sacramento during the postwar period was Robert Brookins. Brookins was a musical prodigy, who began singing at the age of four and playing drums at the age of five. He also learned how to play the keyboard, lead guitar, bass guitar, and several horns. In 1974, he won the Motown Soul Search contest as the leader for the nine- member musical group Little Robert and the Fondells. The group performed on television for
310 “Past Awardees,” Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, accessed April 26, 2023, https://web.archive.org/web/20080820080111/http://www.midatlanticarts.org/funding/artists_programs/living_legacy/reid.html .
Figure 85. Little Robert and the Fondells (1970). Source: Center for Sacramento History, Sacramento Bee Collection, 2000/061/088.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 137 June 2023
Ed Sullivan, Dean Martin, Dinah Shore, Johnny Carson, and others. After graduating from Grant High School, Brookins began a career in the recording industry with ARC label, founded by Maurice White of Earth, Wind, and Fire. He later performed with the group in the late 1990s and early 2000s before his death in 2009.311
Raised in Oak Park and a graduate of Sacramento High School, Cynthia Robinson learned to play trumpet as a student at Sacramento High School. In the 1960s and 1970s, she became one of the first female trumpet players in a major American band as one of the founding members of the soul and rock and roll band Sly and the Family Stone. The band had five Top 10 hits, including “Everyday People,” “I Want to Take You Higher,” “Dance to the Music.” After her time with the band, she continued her music career playing in bands that were headed by other musical luminaries, such as her cousin and fellow Sly and the Family Stone bandmember Larry Graham (Graham Central Station), George Clinton, and Prince. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993 as a member of Sly and the Family Stone.312
Figure 86. Sly and the Family Stone in 1968. Cynthia Robinson is in the center of the second row. Source:
Wikipedia. Public Domain.
311 Robert D. Davila, “Robert Brookins Rose from Del Paso to R&B Heights,” Sacramento Bee, 22 April 2009. 312 Chris Macias, “Local Trumpeter Was a Co-Founder of 1960s Sly and the Family Stone,” Sacramento Bee, 27 November 2015: A3.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 138 June 2023
In the 1980s, Del Paso Heights-native Jay King launched a successful career as a musician, producer, and businessman. King learned the music business as a dancer and concert promoter in Vallejo. Along with producers Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy, King produced the single, “Rumors” for the group Timex Social Club. The song became the highest selling 12- inch single of 1986. After no major label would pick up the song, King decided to create his own record label, King Jay Records, out of a spare room at a law office on 12th Street. King, Foster, and McElroy followed up their success with Timex Social Club by forming their own group, Club Nouveau. Four more hits followed: “Jealousy,” “Situation #9,” “Why You Treat Me So Bad,” and the group’s biggest hit, a cover of Bill Withers’ song “Lean on Me,” which topped the charts in the summer of 1987 and won a Grammy in 1988. With King Jay Records, King worked to develop and record local Sacramento musicians and produced tracks for other record labels. In 1996, he was named senior vice president of operations at the Atlantic Records-backed label, Young Black Brotha.313
Reflecting the rise of Black community organizations and programs inspired by the Black Power and Black Consciousness movements, members of the local Black community founded cultural organizations in the 1960s and 1970s as a means of helping Black youth learn skills that could help them in their professional careers. Inspired by his mother’s desire to have a career in the theater, Mike Benjamin and his wife, Dorothy, founded the Sacramento Repertory Theater in 1969 to help Black youth gain experience in the entertainment field. The 60-seat theater, located in a former converted store and church building at 3116 Stockton Boulevard (extant), presented one act plays, musicals, and other theatrical performances, often with all-Black casts.314
Local Black residents entered the national arts and entertainment scene more broadly in the latter half of the 20th century. Sacramento native Akinsanya Kambon developed a passion for fine art during visits to the Crocker Art Museum as a child and grew up using drawing as a form of therapy while recovering from polio. During the Vietnam War, he served as an infantryman and combat illustrator. Following the war, he joined the Black Student Union and Black Panther Party, where he served as Lieutenant of Culture creating graphic layouts and illustrations for the party’s newspaper, The Black Panther. Among his best-known work are his illustrations in
313 J. Freedom du Lac, “King for a Day,” Sacramento Bee, 21 January 1996. 314 Mike Benjamin, interview by Michael Benjamin at the Oak Park Community Center [transcription], February 3, 2022, African American Experience History Project, City of Sacramento Community Development Department.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 139 June 2023
The Black Panther Coloring Book, which was
designed to bring attention to racial inequality
and social injustice. He remains an active
working artist.315
Another artist, John Franklin King, had a wide-
ranging impact on the local arts community.
Shortly after moving to Sacramento with his
wife and children in 1968, King began exhibiting
sculptures and works of art in a variety of
mediums at the Crocker Art Museum, as well as
other museums and galleries throughout
Northern California. In 1970, King joined with a
group of local artists – including Bob Burge,
Alex Miller, Allen Gordon, and Don Price – to
open their own art gallery at 33rd Street and 2nd
Avenue in Oak Park called The Black Affair. The
gallery was intended to highlight works of art by
Black artists, craftspeople, and students. King
was one of three artists whose work was
showcased in the gallery’s first exhibition.316
King was also well-known for his caricatures
and live portrait sketches, which he completed at street festivals, Venice Beach, and the California State Fair, as well as large-scale murals, including one at the WCIC headquarters.
King’s impact spread to the many students he taught as a teacher, administrator, vice principal, and art department chairman for the Elk Grove Unified School District; associate professor at San Jose State University; and local community groups and organizations. During the course of his life, he has served on the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission.317
315 “Akinsanya Kambon,” Norman Rockwell Museum, Illustration History, accessed September 16, 2022, https://www.illustrationhistory.org/artists/akinsanya-kambon. 316 “Black Affair, New Art Gallery, Opens Doors,” Sacramento Bee, 8 March 1970. 317 John Franklin King Memorial Service Booklet, July 2013, provided by St. Andrew’s AME Church.
Figure 87. Akinsanya Kambon at a festival at
McClatchy Park in the 1980s. Source: Larry V.
Dalton, The Observer Newspaper, from “American
Expressions/African Roots: Akinsanya Kambon’s
Ceramic Sculpture,” Crocker Art Museum.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 140 June 2023
Actor LeVar Burton was raised in the
Meadowview neighborhood and attended
Christian Brothers High School before
moving to Los Angeles for a drama
scholarship at the University of Southern
California.318 When he was 19 years old, he
won the starring role in the miniseries
Roots (1977). The show became one of the
most popular television shows in the
history of American television and earned
Burton an Emmy nomination for best actor
in a drama series.319 He later served as
host and producer of the popular
children’s show, “Reading Rainbow,” for
which he won 12 Emmy Awards and a
Peabody Award. From 1987 to 1994, he
gained further success for his role as
Geordi La Forge in the television series
“Star Trek: The Next Generation.” 320 In
recognition of his contributions and
success in film and television, Richfield
Park in Meadowview was renamed LeVar
Burton Park in 2019 in his honor.321
Black Journalism
Black newspapers have been a vital force of community-building since the early 20th century.
The newspapers – owned, operated, and written by African American men and women – helped build a sense of community and interconnectedness among Sacramento’s African American residents by publicizing social, political, and cultural events; advertising for Black businesses; and reporting on events important to the Black community. They also served as a powerful public voice in the fight for civil rights, providing honest reporting on issues of racial discrimination and publicizing outspoken editorials advocating for Black rights. The newspapers
318 “Sacramento Native LeVar Burton Named 2022 Grand Marshall of Rose Parade in Pasadena,” Sacramento Bee, 8 October 2021: A8. 319 “LeVar Burton Park,” Sacramento Observer, accessed September 16, 2022, https://sacobserver.com/community/places/levar-burton-park/. 320 “Sacramento Native LeVar Burton Named 2022 Grand Marshall of Rose Parade in Pasadena,” Sacramento Bee. 321 “LeVar Burton Returns to Hometown for Dedication,” Sacramento Bee, 12 June 2019: A3.
Figure 88. Press photograph of LeVar Burton for
“Reading Rainbow” (1983). Source: PBS.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 141 June 2023
served as an important method of organizing around civil rights campaigns and provided an outlet to air grievances.
In 1906, Reverend J. Gordon McPherson of the Shiloh Baptist Church published Sacramento’s first Black newspaper, The Sacramento Forum, with assistance from Dr. R.J. Fletcher and Shiloh Baptist Church minister J.M. Collins. The newspaper only published one issue before Reverend McPherson relocated to San Jose, but it provided Reverend Collins with the experience to start his own paper. In 1915, Reverend Collins began publishing the longer-lived The Western Review. A third Black newspaper, the Sacramento Enterprise, was started by attorney and Spanish-American War veteran, P.J. Clyde Randall, in 1910. In addition to his work in the Enterprise, Randall penned editorials in the white-owned Sacramento Union, utilizing the newspaper ’s close connection to progressive Republican politics to criticize the treatment of Black veterans and describe the general state of Black Sacramentans. Similar to The Sacramento Forum, The Sacramento Enterprise did not last long, ending publication when Randall left Sacramento. In spite of their relatively short existences, these early Black newspapers provided Sacramento’s African American community with an important means of communicating with each other, disseminating the views of community leaders, and organizing around important issues. The success of these papers convinced the white-owned Sacramento Union to provide regular column space for members of the African American community to express their opinions on local matters to a wider audience.322
After the short run of these early Black newspapers in the first decades of the 20th century, the local Black community remained without a dedicated media outlet of its own until the 1940s.
Recognizing a need for a voice for the community, Reverend J.T. Muse of the Shiloh Baptist Church founded The Sacramento Outlook in 1942. The newspaper delivered information on national events from the Black perspective, provided a means for community members to organize and communicate about local events, and publicized the activities of Sacramento’s growing Black community professionals, who were increasingly able to offer essential services to Black residents that had previously been inaccessible to them. The Sacramento Outlook was also more outspoken on civil rights issues than earlier Black newspapers and embraced its role in providing coverage of local and national civil rights events to its readers.323 In the 1960s, local
322 Burg, "From Civil War to Civil Rights: Black Sacramento in the Late 19th and Early 20th Century.” 323 Caesar, ”An Historical Overview of Sacramento’s Black Community, 1850-1980,” 159-1960.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 142 June 2023
civil rights leader Nathaniel Colley had a regular column in the newspaper.324 The newspaper ran successfully for over twenty years.325
Figure 89. William H. Lee, founder of the Sacramento Observer (undated). Source: Sacramento Observer.
The standards and precedents established by The Sacramento Outlook set the bar for future local Black publications, most notably its successor, The Sacramento Observer. The newspaper was created in 1962, when Reverend Muse sold The Sacramento Outlook to the Men’s Civic League, a group of six Black professionals, including realtor William H. Lee. In 1965, Lee bought out his partners and became the newspaper’s sole owner and publisher. Its offices were established at the former Oak Park post office at 3540 4th Avenue.326 The Observer sought to be a “communication bridge” for the Black community. Under Lee’s leadership, the newspaper increased its coverage of local and national events related to the African American community and gained a reputation as a strong community advocate by publicizing the accomplishments of Black residents and providing straightforward political reporting and outspoken editorial pieces. By 1966, the newspaper boasted a circulation of 10,000 copies and 8,000 paid
324 Burg, Sacramento Renaissance, 33-34.
325 Caesar, ”An Historical Overview of Sacramento’s Black Community, 1850-1980,” 159-160. 326 Burg, Sacramento Renaissance, 52.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 143 June 2023
subscriptions.327 The newspaper continues to serve the Sacramento community and remains a vital voice in the local media landscape.
African American individuals began to join the staff of local media outlets in the latter half of the 20th century. Bertha Gorman, a native of Oak Park, began writing for the Sacramento Bee around 1970.328 Mel Assagai (formerly Mel Whitaker) started his career in journalism at the Sacramento Observer after Greater Sacramento Urban League leader Howard Harris took him under his wing and helped him get his first reporting job at the newspaper.329 Assagai joined the staff of the Sacramento Bee in the early 1970s and later became a successful lobbyist.
Ginger Rutland, raised in Curtis Park and South Land Park Hills, was hired by local NBC television affiliate KCRA in the 1970s, becoming the station’s first Black female reporter. While with the station, she won an Emmy for her coverage of the construction of the Diablo Canyon Power Plant in San Luis Obispo County. She later joined the editorial board of the Sacramento Bee in the 1980s and worked there for 25 years. She later republished a memoir, When We Were Colored, written by her mother, Eva Rutland, and adapted it into a popular play.330
The previous discussion represents a small portion of the overall contributions and activities of Black individuals in the fields of media and journalism.
Social Clubs, Fraternities, and Sororities
Social clubs, fraternities, sororities and other groups provided further enrichment to the social lives of Sacramento’s Black residents, as well as an important means for organizing responses to issues facing the local African American community. The first Black social clubs and fraternal organizations were created nearly at the same time as the city’s founding as the small Black community joined in solidarity to protect its citizens from fugitive slave laws. Realizing the power of forming a unified front to respond to civil rights abuses, and barred from joining white social clubs and fraternal organizations, Black residents formed social clubs and organizations of their own, modeled after their white counterparts. The first Black fraternal organization in Sacramento was the Philomathean Lodge, No.2, a Black chapter of the Free and Accepted Masons. Founded by podiatrist Dr. R. J. Fletcher in 1853, the lodge was the first Black fraternal organization founded on the West Coast. The lodge joined with other Black Masonic lodges founded shortly after in San Francisco and Oakland to organize a Grand Lodge of Black Masons
327 Caesar, “An Historical Overview of Sacramento’s Black Community, 1850-1980,” 198-200. 328 Various articles in the Sacramento Bee; communication with Carson Anderson, August 2022. 329 Stephen Magagnini, “Troubled People Get a Leg Up,” Sacramento Bee, 22 December 2008. 330 Interview with Ginger Rutland, conducted by Danielle Baza, City of Sacramento Oral History Project, December 2021.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 144 June 2023
for California in 1855. They met in Sacramento the following year to ratify a constitution and by- laws and elect leaders. The Philomathean Lodge and later fraternal organizations like it brought men from different social, religious, educational, and economic backgrounds and with different skillsets together to find effective solutions to common causes facing the African American community.331
The clubs founded by Black Sacramentans ranged from the purely recreational to groups with strong civil rights agendas focused on improving conditions and elevating the African American community. In the early years, African American clubs often did not have dedicated buildings.
The community was small and generally located in the West End through the mid-20th century.
Meetings and events were typically held inside personal residences, churches, or the meeting halls of other organizations. The Philomathean Lodge was no different. In the 19th century, the lodge, as well as many other clubs and organizations, held regular events at St. Andrews AME.332
As newcomers expanded Sacramento’s local Black population during the First Great Migration of the 1920s and 1930s and again after World War II, the number of Black social clubs and fraternal organizations increased to reflect the growing diversity of the community and its interests.333 Other Black fraternal orders founded in Sacramento included the Crispus Attucks Lodge No. 19, the Knights of Pythias; Adah Chapter 1, the Order of the Eastern Star; and the Harmony Lodge No. 61 of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge, though there were likely others.334
By the 1930s and 1940s, some Black social clubs and fraternal organizations were large and influential enough to rent or build their own meeting halls. These were often shared with other like-minded groups. In 1930, the Philomathean Lodge was listed in the Sacramento city directory in the Odd Fellows (IOOF) Hall at 1025 9th Street. In the 1950s, the lodge attempted to obtain a permit to construct a lodge hall on the north side of 9th Avenue between 35th and 37 streets, adjacent to the new Shiloh Baptist Church in Oak Park, but its permit was denied by the City due to complaints from local residents.335 Research did not indicate whether a lodge was ever built.
331 Caesar, ”An Historical Overview of Sacramento’s Black Community, 1850-1980,” 45-57. 332 “Social Entertainment,” The Record-Union, 7 November 1883: 5; Caesar, ”An Historical Overview of Sacramento’s Black Community, 1850- 1980,” 104.
333 Caesar, ”An Historical Overview of Sacramento’s Black Community, 1850-1980,” 151. 334 “Masonic Lodges Plan St. Johns Day Rites,” Sacramento Bee, 23 June 1955: 21. 335 “Protests On Church Plan Are Overridden,” Sacramento Bee, 23 October 1957: 3; “Planners May Rule on Eagles Club Tomorrow,” Sacramento Bee, 7 October 1957: 27.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 145 June 2023
Figure 90. Members of Adah Chapter No. 1, Order of the Eastern Star (1924). Source: Center for Sacramento History, Clarissa Hundley Wildy Collection, 2000/061/115.
Women’s clubs became particularly popular amongst Black women, both as outlets for social interaction through the organization of social events such as lunches and sewing circles, as well as civic and political engagement. A particularly influential group, the Negro Women ’s Improvement Club (NWCIC) was founded in 1936 to provide housing for single Black women.
The organization relocated multiple times. It was initially located at 1830 T Street (extant) before relocating to a Victorian mansion at 1219 X Street in 1949. Both locations offered dorm- like living environments for Black women. In 1958, the organization moved to its present home, a custom-built office in Oak Park at 3555 3rd Avenue (extant). The organization continued its mission in its new neighborhoods, opening the first Head Start Program in Sacramento in 1966 and the Shiloh Arms low-income housing complex with the Shiloh Baptist Church in 1971.336
Women’s auxiliaries of fraternal orders were established with similar missions as their male counterparts, organizing social events for members and performing community service. Among these were the Queen Ester No. 41 of Worthy Masons and the Grace Pugh Order of the Eastern Star, No. 125. Local chapters of Black sororities associated with particular universities were also established. By the 1960s, at least three Black sororities existed in Sacramento, including chapters of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Gamma Phi Delta, and Iota Phi Lambda.337 Through these women’s clubs and sororities, Black women were able to exercise power, influence, and
336 Interview with Ginger Rutland, conducted by Danielle Baza, City of Sacramento Oral History Project, December 2021; Burg, Sacramento Renaissance, 51; Caesar, ”An Historical Overview of Sacramento’s Black Community, 1850-1980,” 152; Women’s Civic Improvement Club of Sacramento, “WCIC History,” accessed September 16, 2022, http://wcicinc.org/wcic-history.html. 337 Sacramento Negro Directory, 1965 (Sacramento, CA: Sacramento Observer, 1965).
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 146 June 2023
independence apart from their families or husbands and become leaders in their communities in their own right.
By 1965, the “Who’s Who in the Negro Community” directory listed over twenty different Black social clubs and organizations in Sacramento, including fraternities and sororities, church groups, and more. The largest institution listed was the Sacramento Branch of the NAACP.
Reflecting the diversity and richness of the local Black community, the represented groups included four women’s clubs, a local Baptist minister’s conference, charity groups, social event clubs, among others.338
While social clubs, sororities, and fraternal organizations peaked in the first half of the 20th century, some groups emerged in the latter half of the century. In 1973, a group of members of the historically African American fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi, met at the law office of attorney Clarence S. Brown in the United California Bank Building at 4920 Freeport Boulevard to establish a local chapter of the fraternity. The chapter received its charter later that year. The first group of elected officers included Brothers Richard A. Harris, Polemarch; Clarence S.
Brown, Vice Polemarch; John Robinson, Keeper of Records; and Attorney Joseph Russell, Keeper of Exchequer.339
Although the popularity of social clubs and fraternal organizations waned in the late 20th century, some, including the WCIC, Alpha Kappa Alpha, and Kappa Alpha Psi, continue to be active in Sacramento and some other new organizations have been founded. Social clubs and organizations such as these emerged typically in response to community needs, and many existed only for a short period. As such, the groups described in this section represent only a small fraction of the total number and types of social clubs and organizations that members of the Black community participated in during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Athletics
Over the decades, athletics have served as an important outlet for youth education and development, social gathering and enjoyment, and a powerful source of Black community pride in Sacramento.
338 Sacramento Negro Directory, 1965 (Sacramento, CA: Sacramento Observer, 1965). 339 James Reede, “Sacramento Alumni Chapter History,” undated, sent via email to Carson Anderson, March 11, 2023.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 147 June 2023
YOUTH SPORTS
Youth sports, centered around youth leagues and particularly around Sacramento’s high schools, fomented a powerful sense of community identity among Black residents and fostered lively rivalries between the city’s various neighborhoods and communities. The most prominent schools in the Oak Park area and Central City were Sacramento’s two oldest high schools:
Sacramento High School and McClatchy High School. In the neighborhoods to the north, Grant Union High School and Rio Linda High School developed into athletic powerhouses. According to residents of Del Paso Heights, sports were “everything” to the community.340 These schools, among many others in the Sacramento area, produced many student-athletes who went on to have successful professional careers.
Figure 91. Members of Grant High School’s 1962 football team “A.” Source: Center for Sacramento History, Michael T. Benning Collection, 1983/232/02574-75.
Perhaps more than any other sport in the Sacramento area, baseball has been a major unifying force and source of pride among the African American community. The sport served as a social linchpin particularly in the Oak Park neighborhood, where it helped bring the Black community
340 Oshay Johnson, North Sacramento/DPH Community Meeting, March 10, 2023, notes taken by Carson Anderson, City of Sacramento .
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 148 June 2023
together as it established its roots there in the 1950s. The Oak Park Little League was first chartered in the 1950s. Coached by men from their community, the youth baseball league gave Black boys and young men models to aspire to who looked like them.341
One such influential coach, Norman Blackwell, played baseball in several semi-professional divisions and leagues in the Sacramento area in the 1950s, including the Rural League and the Sacramento Winter Baseball League, the top division in the Sacramento area, which featured professional baseball players who competed in Sacramento during the major league off- season. Blackwell was the only Black player in the division at the time. Frustrated at the lack of opportunities for Black players, he sponsored several all-Black teams.342 Blackwell was eventually offered a contract to play for the St. Louis Cardinals’ farm team in Georgia but turned down the offer because of hostile playing conditions in the South and to raise a family. After ending his semi-professional career, Blackwell turned his attention to coaching and became one of the foundational figures in the Oak Park Little League. Seven of the players Blackwell coached went on to sign contracts with professional baseball team, including his sons Orlando Blackwell and Juan Blackwell.343
Another beloved coach of the Oak Park Little League coach was Jimmie Lee Royster. Royster was a coach and manager for the league for approximately two decades and later also served as league president. During his long tenure with the league, Royster inspired and mentored generations of young Black athletes, including his son, Jerry Royster, who went on to play in the major leagues. Beyond the playing field, Jimmie Royster
341 Ailene Voisin, "Crump, Blackwell to get LL Honors," Sacramento Bee, 2 April 1999. 342 Norman Blackwell, interview by Michael Benjamin at the Oak Park Community Center [transcription], February 3, 2022, African American Experience History Project, City of Sacramento Community Development Department. 343 Kris Hooks, “The Many Faces of Oak Park,” Sacramento News and Review, June 16, 2016, accessed March 17, 2023, https://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/content/the-many-faces-of-oak-park/21211139/.
Figure 92. Norman Blackwell
playing semi-professional
baseball in the Winter Baseball
League (1959). Source: “Triple Bill
Will Aid Busher’s Fund, Open
Winter Baseball Play,” Sacramento
Bee, 27 September 1959.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 149 June 2023
instilled discipline, hard work, self-esteem, pride, and the difference between right and wrong in his players.344
Harrison Crump, Sr. was also a giant in the Oak Park Little League. He served as president for approximately 30 years from 1979 to 2009.345 As an indication of the popularity of the league and its regular games, players and family members remembered roughly 200 people attending the “hot games” at noon when the summer temperatures were high. The Oak Park Little League’s primary home field appears to have been a baseball field at the former site of Stanford Junior High on Martin Luther King Boulevard and 10th Street, later renamed Christensen Field (now the site of the Oak Park Community Center).346 League sign-ups and tryouts were also held at McClatchy Park, the First Lutheran Church at 3860 4th Avenue (extant), and the Arata Brothers store at 34th Street and 3rd Avenue.347 Membership in the league began to decline in more recent years as the price to play and compete in the sport outpriced the means of the local community.348 In 1999, the baseball field at McClatchy Park was renamed Crump-Blackwell Fields in honor of Harrison Crump, Sr. and Normal Blackwell.349
PROFESSIONAL SPORTS
Prior to the 1940s, careers in professional sports were not open to Black individuals. The successful integration of the Brooklyn Dodgers by Jackie Robinson in 1945 opened opportunities for Black athletes across the nation, including Sacramento. By the 1950s, the successes of the first Black athletes in integrated professional baseball, football, and basketball leagues prompted the focused recruitment of Black athletes from colleges and high schools across the country.350
The following sections provide brief biographies of some of the most well-known and successful professional athletes to come out of Sacramento through roughly the 1980s.
344 Robert D. Dávila, “Oak Park Coach, Mentor Jimmie Lee Royster, 78,” Sacramento Bee, 21 July 2006. 345 Voisin, "Crump, Blackwell to get LL Honors.”
346 “Youth Baseball,” Sacramento Bee, 12 March 1969: 18. 347 “Youth Baseball,” Sacramento Bee, 7 February 1969: 22; “Youth Baseball,” Sacramento Bee, 12 March 1969: 57. 348 Public comment, Sacramento African American Experience Project Partners Kickoff Meeting, Oak Park, June 7, 2022. 349 Voisin, "Crump, Blackwell to get LL Honors.”
350 Caesar, “An Historical Overview of Sacramento’s Black Community, 1850-1980,” 169.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 150 June 2023
Boxing
One of Sacramento’s earliest known
professional Black athletes was lightweight
and middleweight boxer Lloyd Marshall.
Considered the best boxer from Sacramento
through at least the 1990s, Marshall’s career
lasted from 1937 to 1951, during which he
fought in bouts across the country, some of
which drew over 12,000 spectators and faced
several of the top fighters of the 20th
century.351 He beat at least seven boxers who
were once world champions or went on to
become champions after fighting him. Despite
his prowess, he was never given a title fight
because of his race and never made more
than $3,000 for most of his fights. As a result,
local boxing historians considered Marshall
the best boxer to never receive a title shot. He
was the “the ne plus ultra,” boxing historian
and Sacramento Bee reporter Bill Conlin
wrote. “There was nobody even close.”352 Marshall was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1996 alongside Sugar Ray Leonard, Carlos Zarate, and Pipino Cuevas.353 He was posthumously inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2010.354
Baseball
Sacramento’s first known professional Black athlete was Leonard Keene, a baseball player whose training took place in the neighborhood park and high school sandlots of Sacramento’s predominately Black neighborhoods. Keene was drafted in 1950 by the St. Louis Browns, the Major League Baseball (MLB) parent club of the minor league Sacramento Solons. Keene played with the Solons for years before retiring to raise a family in Sacramento. Keene would remain Sacramento’s only Black professional baseball player until the 1960s when several other local
351 "Lloyd Marshall Wins Clean Cut Decision Over Christo Before 12,099," Sacramento Bee, 22 April 1943; Ben Swesey, "Boxing Legend Is Dead," Sacramento Bee, 7 Augsust 1997.
352 Bill Conlin, "Marshall Was Capital's Best," Sacramento Bee, 14 April 1996. 353 Swesey, "Boxing Legend Is Dead.”
354 "Patrick Makes It Official - Signs with JR Motorsports," Sacramento Bee, 9 December 2009.
Figure 93. Lloyd Marshall, Sr. with his son Lloyd
Marshall, Jr. (1969). Source: Center for Sacramento
History.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 151 June 2023
athletes joined the major leagues. The following is a short list of some of the most successful athletes to come out of Sacramento between approximately 1950 and 1980.
Born in Riverside, Johnnie B. “Dusty” Baker, Jr.
grew up in Sacramento. He played 19 seasons
in Major League Baseball (MLB), debuting first
with the Atlanta Braves in 1968. Baker won two
Silver Slugger Awards and a Golden Glove
Award. After retiring from his playing career,
he served as manager for several MLB teams,
including the San Francisco Giants, Chicago
Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Washington Nationals,
and Houston Astros, with whom he won the
World Series in 2022.
Jerry Royster, son of Jimmie Lee Royster,
debuted in the MLB with the Los Angeles
Dodgers as an amateur free agent in 1970 at
age 17. Royster played 16 seasons of American
and Korean professional baseball. He was
promoted as a full Dodgers team member in
1973. In 1976, he was traded to the Atlanta
Braves and remained with the team until 1984,
when he joined San Diego Padres (1985-1986).
Greg Lamont Vaughn, a cousin of Jerry Royster
and Mo Vaughn, attended Kennedy High
School. He played baseball at the University of
Miami and debuted professionally in the MLB
with the Milwaukee Brewers (1989-1996) and
later played the San Diego Padres (1996-98).
During the 1998 season with the Padres,
Vaughn hit 50 homeruns, the fourth highest
number in the MLB that season. Vaughn was a
four-time All Star in 1993, 1996, 1998, and 2001.
Figure 95. Jerry Royster (center), winning an award
with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1979. Source: Los
Angeles Public Library.
Figure 94. Dusty Baker playing with the Los Angeles
Dodgers (1981). Source: Los Angeles Public Library
Photo Collection.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 152 June 2023
Along with the Royster and Blackwell families, the Lee family has been one of the most prolific and dominant baseball families in Sacramento. Leron Lee graduated from Grant Union High School in 1966 and was drafted with the seventh overall pick by the St. Louis Cardinals. He played several season in the MLB before going to Japan, where he became the first Black man to play in the country. Leron’s brother Leon Lee, Jr. was also drafted into the major leagues.
After playing a few years in the minor leagues, Leon joined his brother in Japan. The brothers played baseball in Japan for over ten years.355 Leon’s son, Derrek Lee, was a two-time major league All-Star and Golden Glove winner, who played 15 seasons in the major leagues. He won a World Series championship with the Florida Marlins in 2003 and the National League batting title in 2005.356
After starring at Sacramento High School,
Drungo Hazewood signed a letter of intent to
play baseball for the University of Southern
California but turned the offer down after the
Baltimore Orioles drafted him in the first round
of the MLB draft in 1977, just before his high
school graduation. Hazewood played seven
minor league seasons and a short stint with the
Orioles in 1980.357
Born in Georgia, Jerry Manuel moved to
Sacramento as a youth and excelled on the
baseball team at Rancho Cordova High School.
In 1972, he was drafted in the first round of the
MLB draft by the Detroit Tigers. During his ten-
year career, he played for the Tigers, Montreal
Expos, and San Diego Padres. After his
professional career, Manuel turned to coaching.
In 2000, he led the White Sox to a first-place
finish in the American League’s Central Division
and was named the American League’s Manger
355 Del Paso Heights & Hagginwood: Our Roots, People, Places, and Memories (Undated and Unpublished). 356 “Derrek Lee,” Baseball Reference, accessed April 19, 2023, https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/leede02.shtml. 357 Joe Davidson, "Local Legend Is Gone Too Soon," Sacramento Bee, 30 July 2013.
Figure 96. Drungo Hazewood chatting with a coach
as a student at Sacramento High School after
signing a letter of intent to play for USC. Source:
Center for Sacramento History, Sacramento Bee
Collection, 1983/001/SBPMP03138.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 153 June 2023
of the Year. He later joined the New York Mets as a first base and outfield coach.358
Born in Philadelphia, Dion James grew up in Sacramento and attended McClatchy H.S. where he starred on the school’s baseball team. He had an 11-season career in the MLB and Japanese professional baseball leagues, debuting with the Milwaukee Brewers (1980-1987), Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, and the New York Yankees.
Football
Charles Mann attended Valley High School and played college football as a defensive end at the University of Nevada, Reno (1979-82). During his senior year, he led the Big Sky (College) Conference in sacks and was named the conference’s Most Valuable Player as a defensive lineman. He debuted in National Football League (NFL) with the Washington Redskins (now the Commanders) (1983-1993) and played one season with the San Francisco 49ers (1994).
Following his professional football career, Mann became a philanthropist, working with organizations such as the Good Samaritan Foundation. Donald Lavert Rogers played football for the NFL’s Cleveland Browns for two seasons from 1985 to 1985. Reggie O’Keith Rogers played four seasons in the NFL for the Detroit Lions, Buffalo Bills, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers between 1987 and 1992.359
Basketball
Sacramento has also produced its share of professional basketball players. Darnel “Dr. Dunk” Hillman starred at Hiram Johnson High School as a youth. In 1971, the Golden State Warriors selected him with the eighth overall pick in the first round of the NBA draft; however, Hillman opted instead to play for the Indiana Pacers, then of the American Basketball Association. He earned the nickname “Dr. Dunk” for his high-flying and stylish dunks.360
Elk Grove-native Bill Cartwright is one of the best basketball players to come out of the wider Sacramento area. In the 1973-1974 season, he led Elk Grove High School to a perfect 30-0 record. The following season, the team won the Northern California high school boys basketball title. The seven-foot center starred at the University of San Francisco before being drafted by the New York Knicks in 1979. Cartwright enjoyed a 16-season career in the NBA, during which
358 Cameron Salerno and Joe Davidson, “Alpha Charter Advances to NorCal Baseball Title Game,” Sacramento Bee, 4 June 2022; “Jerry Manuel,” Baseball Reference, accessed April 18, 2023, https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/manueje01.shtml. 359 Jay King, Sacramento African American Experience public meeting, October 18, 2022. 360 “Darnel Hillman,” Basketball Reference, accessed April 17, 2023, https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/hillmda01.html.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 154 June 2023
he was selected as an All Star and won three NBA
championships with the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s.361 In the early 2000s, Cartwright continued his basketball
career as head coach of the Chicago Bulls.362
Of Afro-English ancestry, James Donaldson was born in
Sacramento and attended Luther Burbank High School,
where he starred as a center for the basketball team. He played four seasons as a center with the Washington
State University basketball team, after which he went on to play professional basketball for Italian, Spanish and Greek divisions in Europe, and for the National Basketball Association (NBA) as part of the Seattle Supersonics
(1980-83), San Diego/Los Angeles Clippers (1983-85), and Dallas Mavericks (1985-1991). Donaldson became a
successful businessman following his professional
basketball career based in the Seattle area.
In 1987, Kevin Johnson, an Oak Park native and alumnus
of Sacramento High School, was drafted seventh overall in the NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He later joined the Phoenix Suns (1988-1998, 2000) and became a three-time All-Star.
In 2008, he was elected the first African American mayor of Sacramento and served in the position for ten years until 2018. 363
This brief overview of some of the exceptional Black athletes, artists, musicians, writers, and other talented individuals who came out of the Sacramento’s schools, youth programs, and other organizations reflects the many ways in which the African American community’s tight- knit bonds, dedication to family and community service, resilience, ingenuity, and multi-faceted talents propelled many over the barriers placed before them to new heights.
361 Darrell Smith, “Elk Grove Basketball Title Sparks Memories for Cartwright,” Sacramento Bee, 16 March 2022. 362 “Bill Cartwright,” Wikipedia, accessed April 17, 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Cartwright. 363“Inductees,” Sacramento Sports Hall of Fame, accessed September 16, 2022, https://www.sacsportshof.com/inductees.
Figure 97. Darnel Hillman (1973). Source:
Center for Sacramento History,
Sacramento Bee Collection,
1983/001/SBPMP03431.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 155 June 2023
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Public & Archival Records
Boghosian, Paula. “New Helvetia Historic District.” National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. 2014.
California Office of Historic Preservation. Technical Assistant Series No. 7, How to Nominate a Resource to the California Register of Historic Resources. Sacramento, CA: California Office of State Publishing, 2001. Santa Barbara City Clerk.
California Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans. “Interim Report.” June 2022.
California Trust & Savings Bank to Clarence E. Bovey. Sacramento County Recorder’s Office.
Deed Book.
"Code of Ethics, National Association of Real Estate Boards, Article 34." California Real Estate Magazine. June, 1939.
Declaration of Restrictions. Curtis Oaks Homeowners Circulation. 1944.
Forrest, Kathleen and Genevieve Entezari. City of Sacramento, Preservation Office. “Shiloh Baptist Church.” National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. 2012.
John Franklin King Memorial Service Booklet. July 2013. Provided by St. Andrew’s AME Church.
Journal of the House of Representatives of the United States 65. No. 2. Washington, DC:
Government Printing Office. 1918.
National Park Service. National Register Bulletin Number 15: How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation. Washington D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior, 1997.
Page & Turnbull. “Capitol Towers National Register of Historic Places Registration Form.” 2014. ---. Sacramento Historic District Plans. 2019.
Penn, Patricia. “Historical Summary.” St. Andrew’s African American Methodist Episcopal Church brochure. 2022.
Proceedings of the First State Convention of the Colored Citizens of the State of California Sacramento: Democratic State Journal Print, 1855. Colored Conventions Project.
Accessed June 9, 2023, https://omeka.coloredconventions.org/.
Quon, Cory and Sean de Courcy. “Nathaniel Colley & Associates Law Offices.” California Department of Parks and Recreation Primary Record. 2020.
Sanborn-Peris Map Company. “Sacramento, California.” 1895. Library of Congress.
Sanborn Map Company. “Sacramento, California.” 1915, 1950, 1952. Library of Congress.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 156 June 2023
Sacramento City Code.
Sacramento City Directories.
Sacramento City Planning Commission.
Sacramento City Planning Commission, “A Community Plan for Meadowview.” November 1985. ---. Sacramento Urban Redevelopment: Existing Conditions in Blighted Conditions. Sacramento, CA. 1950.
Sacramento County Clerk Recorder. Deed Records.
Sacramento County Housing Authority. "Report of Survey of Sub-Standard Dwellings in a Portion of the County of Sacramento Made to the Commissioners of the Housing Authority of the County of Sacramento by the Executive Director.” Ed. Sacramento County Housing Authority. Sacramento County Housing Authority, 1940.
SurveyLA. Los Angeles Citywide Historic Context Statement, Context: African American History of Los Angeles.
UC Santa Barbara FrameFinder.
United States Bureau of the Census. Statistics of the Population of the United States at the Tenth Census (June 1, 1880). Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1882. ---. Compendium of the Eleventh Census: 1890. Part I – Population. Washington, D.C.:
Government Printing Office, 1892.
---. Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1910. Volume II, Population 1910. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1913.
---. Fourteenth Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1920. Volume III, Population 1920.
Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1922.
---. Fifteenth Census of the United States: 1930, “Population,” Volume III, Part 1. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1932.
---. Sixteenth Census of the United States: 1940, “Population,” Volume II: Characteristics of the Population. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1943. ---. Census of Population: 1950, Volume II: Characteristics of the Population. Washington, D.C.:
United States Government Printing Office, 1953.
---. Census of Population: 1960, Volume I: Characteristics of the Population. Washington, D.C.:
United States Government Printing Office, 1963.
---. Census of Population and Housing: 1970. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1972.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 157 June 2023
---. Census of Population, Volume 1. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, July 1983.
United States Census Office. "Statistics of Population." Twelfth Census of the United States, Taken in the Year 1900, Census Reports, Volume 1, Population, Part 1. Washington, D.C.:
United States Census Office, 1901.
United States Federal Census records. 1900-1950. Ancestry.com.
Oral Histories
Benjamin, Mike. Interview by Michael Benjamin at the Oak Park Community Center [transcription]. February 3, 2022. African American Experience History Project. City of Sacramento Community Development Department.
Blackwell, Norman. Interview by Michael Benjamin at the Oak Park Community Center [transcription]. February 3, 2022. African American Experience History Project. City of Sacramento Community Development Department.
Conversation with Barbara Covington. Conducted by Damany M. Fisher. Undated.
Conversation with Bertha Gorman. Conducted by Carson Anderson. August 7, 2022.
Conversation with Dawn Basciano. Conducted by Carson Anderson. March 3, 2023.
Debbs, Joe. Interview by Michael Benjamin at the Oak Park Community Center [transcription].
February 3, 2022. African American Experience History Project. City of Sacramento Community Development Department.
Interview with Elizabeth Benbow Johnson Love. Ed. Clarence Caesar. Sacramento Ethnic Community Survey. 1983.
Interview with Frederick K. Foote. Conducted by Dane Nicolas. City of Sacramento Oral History Project. November 2021.
Interview with Ginger Rutland. Conducted by Danielle Baza. City of Sacramento Oral History Project. December 2021.
Interview with Joe Debbs. Conducted by Harvey Jones. City of Sacramento Oral History Project.
November 2021.
Interview with Nathaniel Colley, Esq. Sacramento Ethnic Communities Survey Collection. Center for Sacramento History.
Interview with Vincent “Ted” Thompson. Conducted by Clarence Caesar. 1984. Sacramento Ethnic Communities Survey Collection. Center for Sacramento History.
McKinney Dale E. Oral History, Interview by Carson Anderson and Kristen Y. Ross [transcription]. December 7, 2022. African American Experience History Project. City of Sacramento Community Development Department.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 158 June 2023
Murchison-Denson, Carrie. Interview by Ashlee Green [transcription] at 6324 Long Dale Drive, North Highlands, CA. January 2, 2023. African American Experience History Project. City of Sacramento Community Development Department.
Purkins, Princetta. Interview by Deacon Dan Fontenot, Shiloh Baptist Church [transcription].
December 17, 2022. African American Experience Oral History. Center for Sacramento History and Community Development Department.
Roundtree, Sheila and Joyce Burney Askia. North Sacramento/DPH Community Meeting. March 10, 2023. Notes taken by Carson Anderson.
Published Works
Abbott, Carl. The Metropolitan Frontier: Cities in the Modern American West. Tucson, AZ:
University of Arizona Press, 1995.
Abrams, Charles. Forbidden Neighbors: A Study of Prejudice in Housing. New York: Harper, 1955.
Avella, Steven. Sacramento: Indomitable City. Charleston: Arcadia Publishing, 2003.
Beasley, Delilah L. The Negro Trail Blazers of California. Los Angeles: Delilah L. Beasley, 1919.
Bibbs, Susheel. “Mary Ellen Pleasant – A Brief Biography.” October 6, 2022. ---. “Notes on The Archy Trials.” October 6, 2022.
---. “Voices for Freedom: The Hyers Sisters’ Dream, Chanage, and Legacy.” Sponsored by LHF, Inc. Sacramento, CA: M.E.P Publications, 2022.
Buckner, Jocelyn L. “’Spectacular Opacities’” The Hyers Sisters’ Performances of Respectability and Resistance.” African American Review 3. No. 3 (Fall 2012): 309-323.
Bunch III, Lonnie G. Black Angelinos: The Afro American in Los Angeles, 1850-1950. Los Angeles:
California Afro-American Museum, 1988.
Burg, William. Sacramento Renaissance. Charleston, SC: The History Press. 2013.
Byard, Kyle and Tom Naiman. Images of America: McLellan Air Force Base. San Francisco:
Acadia Publishing. 2007.
Cain, Leonard D. Housing Discrimination in Metropolitan Sacramento. Sacramento, CA:
Sacramento Committee for Fair Housing, 1961.
Carter-Douglas, Grace. "A Historical Study of the Women's Civic and Improvement Club." In The Griot: An Anthology of African Necromancers. Ed. Grace Carter-Douglas. Sacramento:
Rumble, 1988.
Covin, David. Black Politics After the Civil Rights Movement: Activity and Beliefs in Sacramento, 1970-2000. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2009.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 159 June 2023
Fisher, James A. “The Political Development of the Black Community in California, 1850-1950.” California Historical Quarterly 50:3 (Sept. 1971): 254-266.
Goode, Kenneth G. California’s Black Pioneers; A Brief Historical Survey. Santa Barbara: McNally & Loftin. 1974.
Forbes, Jack D. "The Early African Heritage in California." in Seeking El Dorado: African Americans in California, ed. Lawrence B. de Graaf and Quintard Taylor. Los Angeles:
Autry Museum of Western Heritage, 2001.
Freund, David M.P. Colored Property: State Policy and White Racial Politics in Suburban America. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2010.
Jackson, Kenneth T. Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the United States. New York:
Oxford University Press, 1985.
Lapp, Rudolph. Blacks in Gold Rush California. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1977.
Lassiter, Matthew D. and Susan Cianci Salvatore. Civil Rights in America: Racial Discrimination in Housing, A National Historic Landmarks Theme Study. Washington, DC: National Park Service, 2021.
Lee, Erika. The Making of Asian America: A History. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2015.
A Long Look Back: A Special Look at the History of Sacramento and the Black Citizens Who Played a Major Role in That History. Ed. Terris McMahon. Sacramento, California: William H. Lee, 1973.
Massey, Douglas S. and Nancy A. Denton. American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1993.
Matney, William C., ed. Who’s Who in Black America, 1975-76 . 1st ed. Vol. 1. Northbrook, Illinois:
Who’s Who in Black America, Inc., 1976.
Moore, Shirley Anne Wilson. Sweet Freedom’s Plains. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 2016.
"A Religious Pioneer: An Interview with Rev. Bessie Whitney." In A Long Look Back: A Special Look at the History of Sacramento and the Black Citizens Who Played a Major Role in That History. Ed. Terris McMahon. Sacramento, California: William H. Lee, 1973.
Rothstein, Richard. The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America. New York: Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2017.
Sacramento Negro Directory. Sacramento, CA: Sacramento Observer. 1965.
Southern, Eileen. “The Origin and Development of the Black Musical Theater: A Preliminary Report.” Black Music Research Journal. Vol. 2 (1981-1982). Center for Black Music Research – Columbia College Chicago and University of Illinois Press: 1-14.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 160 June 2023
Thurman, Sue Bailey. “William Alexander Leidesdorff.” Pioneers of Negro Origin in California.
San Francisco: Acme Publishing Co., 1952.
Urquidi, D.W., Daniel Leighton, and Burt Hubbard. Speculation in Redlined Areas: Investigation into Relationship between Redlining and Housing Speculation. Los Angeles, CA:
California State University, Los Angeles, 1977.
Wiese, Andrew. Places of Their Own: African American Suburbanization in the Twentieth Century. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2005.
Unpublished Academic Papers
Anderson, Carson. “Historical Overview: The Civil Rights Effort to End Segregation in Housing in America, 1910-1960.” September 2022.
---. “Minstrelry and the Evolution of Musical Theater During the Mid-to-Late 20th Century.” October 2022.
Caesar, Clarence. ”An Historical Overview of Sacramento’s Black Community, 1850-1980.” Master’s thesis. California State University, Sacramento. 1985.
Fisher, Damany M. “Far From Utopia: Race, Housing, and the Fight to End Residential Segregation in Sacramento, 1900-1980.” PhD dissertation. University of California, Berkeley, 2008.
Fisher, James A. “A History of the Political and Social Development of the Black Community in California, 1850-1950.” Ph.D. dissertation. State University of New York at Stony Brook, 1971.
Honeycutt, Justin. "The Effects of Adopting Militant Ideology for Social Justice: A Look at The Black Panther Party for Self Defense." History 281C term paper. University of California, Sacramento. 2021.
Hundley Wildy, Clarissa, “Mend A Broken Chain: The Story of My Grandfather.” Dissertation, University of Hawaii. 1973.
Mahan, William E. “Rebirth of a Community: Meadowview.” September 2006.
Senegal, Jasmine. History 281C term paper. University of California, Sacramento. 2021-2022.
Newspaper & Magazine Articles
Abramson, Hilary. "Black Couple Chases American Dream in White Fair Oaks.” Sacramento Bee, 15 December 1983.
---. "A Long Road to Racial Equality." Sacramento Bee. 11 December 1983.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 161 June 2023
“Afro-American School Slates Talent Show.” Sacramento Bee. 29 July 1969: 34. "The 'Barbershop Preacher.'” Sacramento Bee. 10 September 2006. “Bathen, Sigrid. “Angel of Asbury." Sacramento Bee. 26 May 1974. “Black Affair, New Art Gallery, Opens Doors.” Sacramento Bee. 8 March 1970.
Boylan, Sue. “Health Center to Open.” Sacramento Bee. 18 July 1985: 40.
Bragg, Susan. “Knowledge is Power: Sacramento Blacks and the Public Schools, 1854-1860.” California History 75. No. 3 (Fall 1996): 215-221.
Caesar, Clarence. "The Historical Demographics of Sacramento's Black Community, 1848-1900." California History 75. No. 3 (1996).
Camposeco, Maria E. “Gathering Honors ‘Mama’ Marks.” Sacramento Bee. 12 April 1992.
Canson, Virna. "The Hunt for a Home." The Progressive. 1954. "Canson, Virna M." Sacramento Bee. 22 April 2003.
“Capital Activist, Decorated WWII Flier Lawson Dies.” Sacramento Bee. 10 May 1995: 13. “Capitol Civic Leader Retires.” Sacramento Bee. 1 July 1970. “Champion of Social, Economic Justice in California Dies at 87.” Sacramento Bee. 5 May 2019. “Christian Centers Director Says Sacramento Can Forestall Consequences of Urban Unrest.” Sacramento Bee. 30 March 1968: 14.
“Church Services in Sacramento.” Sacramento Bee. 17 August 1935: 25. “Church Will Present St. Louis Gospel Singer.” Sacramento Bee. 21 August 1945: 13. “City College Nears Confrontations Over Negro Controlled Black Studies Program.” Sacramento Bee. 7 February 1969: 29-30.
“Colorfornia Visits California’s Capitol City.” Colorfornia: The California Magazine 1. No. 4 (1952):
14-22.
Conlin, Bill. "Marshall Was Capital's Best." Sacramento Bee. 14 April 1996. "D.D. Mattocks, ExPastor Of AME Zion, Dies." Sacramento Bee. 26 June 1954.
Davidson, Joe. "Local Legend Is Gone Too Soon." Sacramento Bee. 30 July 2013.
Dávila. Robert D. “Leader Praised As A Conciliator.” Sacramento Bee. 20 August 2014: A1-A2. ---. “Oak Park Coach, Mentor Jimmie Lee Royster, 78.” Sacramento Bee. 21 July 2006. “Del Paso Heights Civic Leader Heads Poverty War Council.” Sacramento Bee. 14 July 1970. ”Dr. Arthur Trent, Dedicated Physician.” Sacramento Bee. 7 September 2004.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 162 June 2023
du Lac, J. Freedom. “King for a Day.” Sacramento Bee. 21 January 1996. “Edgar Patterson; Driver for Earl Warren.” Los Angeles Times. March 1, 2001.
Epstein, Aaron. “Youths Flock to Singing Group.” Sacramento Bee. 25 March 1962. “Ernest Black Was Longtime Home Builder in Region." Sacramento Bee. 9 June 2012. "Explains NAACP Program." Sacramento Bee. 25 January 1963. “Funds Will Provide Minority Groups with Apprenticeships.” Sacramento Bee. 10 October 1969.
Gibson, Steve. “’Oak Park 4’ Go Free As Bennett Death Case Ends.” Sacramento Be., 28 January 1971: 1.
Heeter, Maria. “Longtime Sacramento Pastor Ephraim Williams to Retire.” Sacramento Bee. 28 July 2020.
Henetz, Patty. “City to Evict Liquor Store on ‘The Front.’” Sacramento Bee. 19 October 1989. “Home Visit Publicity.” Sacramento Bee. 15 May 1964: 72. ”Kiefer Corrects Statement on Glen Elder Tract.” Sacramento Bee. 30 September 1954. “Kwanzaa Festival.” Sacramento Bee. 30 December 1978: 11. “LeVar Burton Returns to Hometown for Dedication.” Sacramento Bee. 12 June 2019: A3. "Lloyd Marshall Wins Clean Cut Decision Over Christo Before 12,099." Sacramento Bee. 22 April 1943
Macias, Chris. “Local Trumpeter Was a Co-Founder of 1960s Sly and the Family Stone.” Sacramento Bee. 27 November 2015: A3.
Magagnini, Stephen. "Faint Echo of Jazz Mecca at Sixth and Capitol." Sacramento Bee. 5 June 2005.
---. “Troubled People Get a Leg Up.” Sacramento Bee. 22 December 2008.
Moriwaki, Lee. “Kinney, Citizens Unit Chairman Disagree.” Sacramento Bee. 13 October 1973. “Masonic Lodges Plan St. Johns Day Rites.” Sacramento Bee. 23 June 1955: 21.
Masur, Louis P. “Why it Took a Century to Pass an Anti-Lynching Law.” The Washington Post. 28 December 2018.
“Mayor Fills Police Study Vacancies.” Sacramento Bee. 30 December 1972. “New Hope Church May Move by September.” Sacramento Bee. 20 June 1964: 13. "North Area Homes On Display." Sacramento Bee. 18 May 1980. ”North Sacramento Has Growth.” Sacramento Bee. September 1, 1938. “Oak Park.” Sacramento Bee. 4 November 1919: 6.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 163 June 2023
“Oak Park Violence Erupts; Police, Snipers Trade Shots.” Sacramento Bee. 16 June 1969: 1. “The Only Proposition.” Sacramento Bee. 2 November 1979: 25. "Patrick Makes It Official - Signs with JR Motorsports." Sacramento Bee. 9 December 2009. “Peacemaker Suffers Injury in Gunfight.” Sacramento Bee. 16 September 1958. "People." Sacramento Bee. 18 April 1991.
“Planners May Rule on Eagles Club Tomorrow.” Sacramento Bee. 7 October 1957: 27. “Protests On Church Plan Are Overridden.” Sacramento Bee. 23 October 1957: 3. “Rally is Planned.” Sacramento Bee. 12 July 1934: 11.
Ralston, John. "Capitol Honors, 'Mama Marks.'” Sacramento Bee. 25 June 1982. “Rev. Harvey Asks City Aid For Center.” Sacramento Star. 1 April 1921: 2.
Roberts, Brian. "Redevelopment at the Crossroads: How Sacramento Chose between Priorities in the 1950s." Golden Notes 35. No. 2 (1989).
“Sacramento Legend Buried.” Sacramento Bee. 7 April 1991. “Sacramento NAACP 100th Anniversary: A Century of Civil Rights.” Sacramento Observer. 2006. “Sacramento Native LeVar Burton Named 2022 Grand Marshall of Rose Parade in Pasadena.” Sacramento Bee. 8 October 2021: A8.
=Salerno, Cameron. and Joe Davidson. “Alpha Charter Advances to NorCal Baseball Title Game.” Sacramento Bee. 4 June 2022.
“Sallie Benbow, Wife of Pastor, Dies at 73.” Sacramento Bee. 28 October 1971: 11.
Sanders, Jim. “Project Repairs Homes, Hopes.” Sacramento Bee. 6 September 1986. “SCC Again Offers College Classes In Oak Park School.” Sacramento Bee. 29 September 1970:
21. “Setting It Straight.” Sacramento Bee. 11 May 1995: 24. “Sgt. Somers’ Grand Jury Indictment Is Struck Down by Court of Appeal.” Sacramento Bee. 15 June 1973: 1.
Smith, Darrell. “Elk Grove Basketball Title Sparks Memories for Cartwright.” Sacramento Bee. 16 March 2022.
“Social Entertainment.” The Record-Union. 7 November 1883: 5.
Sonmez, Felicia. “Senate Unanimously Passes Anti-Lynching Bill After Century of Failure.” The Washington Post. 8 March 2022.
“Spectrum.” Sacramento Bee. 29 September 1973: 43.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 164 June 2023
“Subdivision is Set for Negroes Only,. Sacramento Bee. September 29, 1954. "Subdivision Trend Shows Lot Purchasers Demand Restriction." Sacramento Bee. April 13, 1928. “The Successfully Integrated South Area. Sacramento Observer. 14 November 1968.
Swesey, Ben. "Boxing Legend Is Dead." Sacramento Bee. 7 August 1997.
Untitled article. Sacramento Bee. 7 September 1978: 40.
Valencia, Manuel. “New Councilwoman – Rough, Frank, Callie Carney ‘Tells It Like It Is!.’” Sacramento Bee. 28 December 1975: 21.
“Vandals Burn McClatchy Park’s Sign.” Sacramento Bee. 13 June 1969: 30. “Vigorous Leap Toward Oblivion.” Sacramento Bee. 28 December 1975: 61.
Voisin, Ailene. "Crump, Blackwell to get LL Honors." Sacramento Bee. 2 April 1999.
Wiley, Walt. “Clarence Wigfall, Longtime Del Paso Heights Doctor.” Sacramento Bee. 11 September 1998.
Williams, George. "Oak Park Facility Sponsors Black Studies.” Sacramento Bee. 13 July 1969: 30.
Williams, Norman D. "'Mama' Marks' spirit Won't Die, Friends Vow." Sacramento Bee. 7 April 1991.
“Willie R. Hausey Sr.” Sacramento Bee. 24 September 2022. ”Winners of Glen Elder’s Garden Contest Are Named.” Sacramento Bee. 29 October 1955: 62. “Youth Baseball.” Sacramento Bee. 7 February 1969: 22.
“Youth Baseball.” Sacramento Bee. 12 March 1969: 18.
Internet Sources
“About Us.” Greater Sacramento Urban League. Accessed April 4, 2023, http://www.gsul.org/about-us/.
“African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund.” National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Accessed October 27, 2022, https://savingplaces.org/african-american-cultural-heritage. “Akinsanya Kambon.” Norman Rockwell Museum. Illustration History. Accessed September 16, 2022, https://www.illustrationhistory.org/artists/akinsanya-kambon.
Barber, Mary Beth. “Archy Lee: The Golden State’s ‘Dred Scott’ Legal Case.” California State Library Foundation. June 12, 2020.Accessed August 24, 2022, https://cslf.medium.com/archy-lee-80a41d1ffeda.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 165 June 2023
Bartolone, Pauline. "North Sacramento Was Annexed Decades Ago. Some Residents Say the City has Long Neglected It." CapRadio.org. 9 August 2022. Accessed March 14, 2023, https://www.capradio.org/articles/2022/08/09/north-sacramento-was-annexed-decades- ago-some-residents-say-the-city-has-long-neglected-it/
"The Black Church in America, A Story." African American Registry. Accessed December 22, 2021, https://aaregistry.org/story/the-black-church-a-brief-history/.
Burg, William. "From Civil War to Civil Rights: Black Sacramento in the Late 19th and Early 20th Century.” The Metropole. Accessed August 25, 2022,
https://themetropole.blog/2018/04/09/from-the-civil-war-to-civil-rights-black- sacramento-in-the-late-19th-and-early-20th-century/.
“Bill Cartwright.” Wikipedia. Accessed April 17, 2023,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Cartwright.
“Congress of Racial Equality (CORE).” Martin Luther King Jr. Encyclopedia. The Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute. Stanford University. Accessed October 27, 2022, https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/congress-racial-equality-core. “Darnel Hillman.” Basketball Reference. Accessed April 17, 2023, https://www.basketball- reference.com/players/h/hillmda01.html.
Ehsanipour, Asal. "How the Founder of California's First Black Church Fought its Last Known Slavery Case." KQED. February 25, 2022. Accessed July 6, 2022, https://www.kqed.org/news/11818409/how-the-founder-of-californias-first-black- church-fought-its-last-known-slavery-case.
Eymann, Marcia. and Kim Hayden, producers. The KKK in Sacramento - What We Didn't Learn In School [video]. Sacramento, CA: Center for Sacramento History, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3hyl0O4cyg.
“The Great Migration, (1910-1970).” National Archives. Accessed March 2, 2022, https://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/migrations/great-migration.
The Green Book. New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed August 16, 2022, https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/collections/the-green-book.
HistoricAerials.com.
Hooks, Kris. “The Many Faces of Oak Park.” Sacramento News and Review. June 16, 2016.
Accessed March 17, 2023, https://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/content/the-many- faces-of-oak-park/21211139/.
“Inductees.” Sacramento Sports Hall of Fame. Accessed September 16, 2022, https://www.sacsportshof.com/inductees.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 166 June 2023
“Jerry Manuel.” Baseball Reference. Accessed April 18, 2023, https://www.baseball- reference.com/players/m/manueje01.shtml.
“Ku Klux Klan, Realm of California Collection.” California State University, Northridge University Library. Accessed June 14, 2023, https://library.csun.edu/SCA/Peek-in-the- Stacks/KuKluxKlan.
“LeVar Burton Park.” Sacramento Observer. Accessed September 16, 2022, https://sacobserver.com/community/places/levar-burton-park/. “National Urban League.” Black Past. Accessed April 4, 2023, https://www.blackpast.org/african- american-history/national-urban-league-1910/.
“The Negro Motorist Green Books.” Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service.
Accessed October 27, 2022, https://negromotoristgreenbook.si.edu/virtual-exhibit/.
Panson, Justin. “Governor’s Driver.” Confluence Studios. Accessed August 31, 2022, http://www.confluencestudio.com/governors-driver.html.
Paul, Catherine A. “Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, VCU Libraries Social Welfare History Project.
Accessed October 23, 2022, https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/federal/fugitive-slave- act-of-1850/.
Ruffin II, Herbert G. “The California Fair Housing Act [The Rumford Act’ (1963-1968).” June 2, 2022. Black Past. Accessed August 41, 2022, https://www.Blackpast.org/african- american-history/california-fair-housing-act-rumford-act-1963-1968/. ---. “The Conventions of Colored Citizens of the State of California (1855-1865).” February 4, 2009, Black Past. Accessed June 6, 2023, https://www.blackpast.org/african-american- history/conventions-colored-citizens-state-california-1855-1865.
Subdivision Maps. SacMaps.org.
"T-RACES: a Testbed for the Redlining Archives of California's Exclusionary Spaces.“ R. Marciano, D. Goldberg, C. Hou. http://t-races.net/T-RACES.
Women’s Civic Improvement Club of Sacramento. “WCIC History.” Accessed September 16, 2022, http://wcicinc.org/wcic-history.html.
Other
1961-62 Allen Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church Anniversary Booklet. 1962. “The History of Allen Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church 1948-Present.” 67th Church Anniversary Booklet. 2015. All cited materials courtesy of Ms. Sheila Roundtree, Evangelist, Allen Chapel AME Church.
Brown, Lois Evelyn (Williams). “Historical Preservation – Sacramento History.” September 29, 2022. Shiloh Baptist Church.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 167 June 2023
Anderson, Carson. “Notes from March 10 Community Meeting (North Sacramento-DPH).” Del Paso Heights & Hagginwood: Our Roots, People, Places, and Memories. Undated and Unpublished.
Reede, James. “Leidesdorff Narrative.” Undated. Sent via email to Carson Anderson. March 9, 2023.
---. “Sacramento Alumni Chapter History.” Undated. Sent via email to Carson Anderson. March 11, 2023.
Sorin, Dr. Gretchen and Ric Burns. “Driving While Black: Race, Space and Mobility in America” [documentary]. 2020. Accessed October 27, 2022, https://www.pbs.org/video/driving- while-black-race-space-and-mobility-in-america-achvfr/.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 168 June 2023
APPENDICES
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 169 June 2023
TERMS AND DEFINITIONS
For the purpose of this document, the terms used by individuals or groups to self-identify at specific periods of time are used where possible, except where the terms are outdated or considered slurs. The terms “African American” and “Black” are generally used interchangeably throughout the document.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is a Historic Context Statement (HCS)?
A Historic Context Statement (HCS) is a specialized historic study. It focuses on the physical development of an area—how and why it developed, what types of properties characterized that development, and whether or not they may be historically significant. An HCS identifies significant themes, patterns and property types, so that interested parties can recognize the forces that shaped the built environment over time. This provides a framework that helps in the identification, evaluation, and treatment of historic properties.
Why is a HCS needed?
1. To better understand historic resources, even in the absence of comprehensive knowledge about specific buildings.
2. To establish historic and cultural preservation goals and strategies.
3. To support and update the City’s inventory of historic properties.
4. To provide the basis for future preservation planning decisions and programs.
To inform other aspects of larger planning processes.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 170 June 2023
What is not included in an HCS?
An HCS is a summary of an area’s physical development. It is not intended to be a comprehensive community history, nor does it evaluate the significance or eligibility of individual properties to be considered historic resources.
Who uses the HCS?
The HCS may be used by anyone. It is intended to help property owners, members of the public, architects, historic resources planning consultants, city planners, and decision-making bodies such as the Historic Landmarks Commission or City Council to recognize and consider protection of historic properties.
A photo of my property appears in the HCS. Does this mean it is historically significant? Not necessarily. The photos in the HCS are intended to support the text descriptions or to provide examples of property types. However, just because a photo of a building appears in the HCS does not automatically mean that the property is an eligible historic resource.
Will the HCS place restrictions on my property?
No. The HCS in an informational document that integrates with existing plans and policies. It is designed to help building owners, planners, and other interested parties evaluate the potential historic significance of a property, but it does not create any official designation, development restrictions, or other limitations. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the City of Sacramento Municipal Code are the regulatory documents that guide the treatment of historic resources in the area.
Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 171 June 2023
PRESERVATION GOALS & POLICIES
Based on the work to date, the following recommendations are offered to continue preservation efforts:
Recommendation: Complete Site-Specific Survey and Research on the Properties for Further Research
From the research conducted, addresses related to the themes and which appear to remain extant were collected in a spreadsheet as properties for further research. They may be candidates for designation as landmarks or historic districts in the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources. City staff or members of the public can conduct additional research to confirm their association with the African American community, the dates of association, and appearance during that association or alterations since then. Field surveys should also be conducted to determine if the properties retain integrity per the considerations in this context. As this HCS is not comprehensive, additional properties associated with Sacramento’s African American community likely to be discovered over time. They should also be researched and surveyed following the same methods.
Recommendation: Designate Eligible Resources at Local and National Levels For properties that meet the eligibility standards and retain integrity, nominations for Sacramento Register designation should be prepared. The City of Sacramento may also consider preparing a National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Submission for Sacramento’s African American Community. The historic overview and themes in the historic context statement may be used as the content of the Multiple Property Documentation nomination form. At least one property with property-specific site history and significance under one of the themes will need to be submitted along with the form. Once the Multiple Property Submission is approved, future nomination of individual properties to the National Register under this topic will need to provide only property-specific information and a statement identifying the criteria and theme(s) the property is significant under and why.
Recommendation: Amend Existing Designations to Include Association with Sacramento’s African American Community
Existing designations of individual landmarks and historic districts that are listed on the Sacramento Register should be amended to reflect the stories and contributions of this community. As opportunities arise to update other designations or the Sacramento Register, Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 172 June 2023
the City should consider researching the properties to see if they are also associated with the African American community.
Recommendation: Continue to Update and Expand the Historic Context Statement Historic context statements are living documents that can and should be updated regularly. The end period will extend as time passes and later decades become historic. Additional research materials may become available, such as the archives of the Sacramento Observer. Potential areas of expansion include, but are not limited to:
• Detailed analysis of United States Federal Census records to better understand where concentrations of Black residents were located at different time periods and why • Changes to the growth, development, and experiences of the Black community as a result of events in the 1990s and 2000s
• Analysis of the characteristics of the African American community compared to other racial and ethnic minority communities in Sacramento (such as the Chinese, Japanese, and Mexican American communities), including a comparison of the size, composition, locations, and other forces that impacted the development of these communities.
The schedule imposed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation grant for this historic context statement limited the amount of research that could be conducted. Not all important themes could be adequately studied, and for some themes, not enough associated important individuals, events, or properties were addressed. As is typical with historic context statements, additional themes can be added as resources become available or more information is discovered. This may include themes for Education, among others.
Recommendation: Documentation and Recognition of Sacramento’s African American Community
Much more remains to be documented and shared about Sacramento’s African American community, including in the greater Sacramento region beyond the city. This may include publishing books and articles or creating exhibits from the research already conducted.
Additional stories of long-term residents and families can be recorded as interviews and oral histories. The artifacts, photographs, and papers of significant individuals and organizations can be collected and donated to existing archives for public use, such as the Center for Sacramento History. The research and findings compiled by the Sacramento African American Experience Project may be used to support future grant and other funding opportunities to support efforts to recognize and celebrate important historic sites in local Black history, particularly those that have been lost over time. They may also be used to support local and state-wide reparations Sacramento African American Experience History Project FINAL Historic Context Statement
PAGE & TURNBULL 173 June 2023
efforts. Support from the City and the Sacramento community as a whole for these and other efforts to preserve the area’s Black legacy is encouraged.
From: E. Davis
To: Sean deCourcy
Subject: African American Experience Project-Historic Building Evaluation.
Date: Thursday, March 6, 2025 9:53:17 AM
Greetings Mr. Sean de Courcy,
Thanks so much for your introduction and informative letter regarding our building being identified as a part of the historic Black experience in Sacramento, which may potentially be eligible as a historic property for listing on the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources. We look forward to receipt of the hearing notices in regards to the nomination of the Women's Civic Improvement Club of Sacramento, Inc., as well as help to preserve African American History in Sacramento!! Therefore, please continue to share your updates with me via email and/or mail.
I will share this great news with WCIC's Board of Directors at the upcoming April 7th, 2025 Board Meeting. Thanks again! Respectfully,
Ms. Edenausegboye Davis, MPA
WCIC/Playmate Head Start Programs
(916) 203-5777 Cell
(916) 457-8661 Admin Office
(916) 451-8870 Head Start Office
From: Johnny Carson
To: Sean deCourcy
Cc: Ettienne LeFebre
Subject: Re: Virna Canson House
Date: Thursday, July 18, 2024 12:18:32 PM
Attachments: image001.png
Hi There
After talking to my Tax advisor it appears I would be
limited to what maybe done to the property in the future.
For instance I had a neighbor who was thinking of
purchasing the property and he was going to demolish
the house and build some units in the front to match the back units. I would not be able to sell this property to someone who may want to do this in the future also this would be a burden to my children if something happened
to me. He also said there is usually some kind of
compensation for something of this sort. So right now I am not comfortable with approving of this process.
Thanks
Johnny Carson
2701 Del Paso Road
Ste. 130-308
Sacramento, CA 95835-2306
Cell: 916-505-4142
[email protected]
On Thursday, July 18, 2024 at 10:59:06 AM PDT, Sean deCourcy <[email protected]> wrote:
John,
Nice speaking with you today. Glad to hear you are open to considering listing on the National Register of From: Kevin Khasigian
To: Sean deCourcy
Subject: Historical Designation Letter - 2685 26th Street Date: Monday, May 26, 2025 11:56:13 AM
Hi Sean,
Hope you’re doing well—I’ve been meaning to catch up and hear more about your new position, but you know how fast time moves! I recently received the notice regarding the potential nomination of my home at 2685 26th Street as part of the African American Experience Project. This was the first I’d heard of the program, so I reviewed the City’s materials. Honestly, really impressive work—you and your team clearly put a lot of thought into documenting an important piece of Sacramento’s history.
That said, I have concerns about the potential consequences of this designation—especially if it moves forward without the consent of affected homeowners. For most people, a home is the largest investment and decision of their lives, and nominations of this magnitude should align with both property rights and the financial realities homeowners face.
As you know, my parcel has an unusual shape with a large undeveloped section and has long been envisioned for infill housing. I’ve had productive conversations with Marcus Adams and plan to submit a project under SB 330 in the coming weeks. A historic designation—even if symbolic—could materially compromise that plan and introduce new regulatory burdens that run directly counter to the State’s housing goals. The designation could:
Disqualify the site from SB 684 ministerial lot splits and streamlined approvals.
Trigger Historic Site Plan Review and discretionary oversight for by-right development.
Reduce market value and buyer interest due to increased restrictions, controversial associations, and uncertainty.
It’s well established that historic listings can diminish property value—especially when tied to politically charged narratives. In this case, the thematic grouping links my home—a private residential property—with entities like the Black Panther Party and COINTELPRO, which have no historical connection to this site. While I fully respect the importance of those stories, grouping them into a single designation risks creating misleading public perceptions that are both financially harmful and legally questionable.
I’m also concerned about the lack of due process here. I was not consulted prior to the nomination, and no outreach was made to discuss alternatives or explain how designation could affect marketability, development rights, or future flexibility. Given how serious the implications are—-including the real possibility of rendering a property unsellable due to regulatory burden—these conversations should happen long before any public action is considered.
I’d welcome the chance to work with you constructively. This isn’t opposition to the broader purpose of the project—it’s simply an objection to the unintended consequences it may impose on my home, my development path, and my financial future, and those of other affected homeowners who may not fully grasp the consequences of this designation. I therefore request:
1. That no designations move forward without the express written consent of the affected homeowner.
2. That the City provide a clear, written determination of how designation would affect SB 330 and SB 684 eligibility.
3. That if the nomination proceeds, the City pause residential property designations and decouple them from more controversial themes—allowing recognition of early African American homeownership to stand on its own, with appropriate nuance.
Please confirm that this objection will be entered into the record for the May 29 consideration.
I’m happy to talk directly if that’s helpful.
Thanks again for everything you do,
—Kevin
--
Kevin Khasigian
HK3 Development
P.O. Box 160372
Sacramento, CA 95816
916.502.3637