NB Commentary: They should make a movie about Russel City. So much we don't know about our history in this country. Finding out about Black Wall Street at this stage in my life was mind blowing. What about the Harlem Renaissance? Or after the Civil War, the Reconstruction Era where many blacks were elected into office in the South. And we know what a rucus that caused and shortly thereafter the Jim Crow Laws. But Africans were kidnapped and MADE INTO SLAVES. Funny thing, because they did all the work, or a majority of the work, they learned a lot about how to sustain themselves, till the land, build houses, clothe themselves, run businesses which was why they were so successful. They had the skills because they had to work from "can" to "can't". Not to mention the many inventions that Africans developed to make their work just a little easier. Think about it.
Sunday Apr 21, 2013 · 2:57 PM EDT
A book by Megan
Wilkinson describes the foundation of an African American community along the
shores of San Francisco Bay in the mid 19th century. This book, What Ever
Happened to Russell City is a remarkable work of scholarship, anthropological
fieldwork and archaeology. Russell City is no more, but now only an
industrial site where a few foundations of homes that once graced the streets
of this once colorful and democratically run town of mainly African Americans.
Russell
City, in California, began as a small farming community in the mid-1800s.
It was founded by a Danish immigrant who gave sanctuary to African
In its latter years, Russell City was considered a blight to the surrounding
towns and in 1963 Alameda County began the forced relocation of its tenants,
bulldozed the entire community, and rezoned the land into industrial use only. No
comprehensive history of Russell City existed at the time of this research by
Megan Wilkinson. To chronicle the events leading up to the town’s demise, she
conducted interviews of ex-residents and built an archive of newspaper accounts
relating to the city. She also created two maps, one of land ownership circa
1963-1968 and another representing renter and business information with street
layouts and a plot map of buildings. These were produced entirely using a
variety of surviving materials and from documents preserved by original
families who lived in Russell City. She produced a basic archaeological
survey of the site of the city as a means of establishing its history of
development. This project is essential to reconstruct Russell City’s past
and is meant to provide the background data for additional projects that will
help secure Russell City’s place in history as well as self-managed
communities.
I recommend
this book highly to anyone studying African American history, the history of
California and the Bay Area and African American culture, music and
self-government. It can be purchased at: http://www.amazon.com/....
