Contemporary African American Culture

California is home to many museums that chronicle African American history and art. Most notable are the world-class California African American Museum in Los Angeles, or the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco.

California is likewise home to vibrant African American communities. Leimert Park Village in Los Angeles, called “the Black Greenwich Village,” is a neighborhood of African-American owned cafes, shops, and performance venues including the World Stage Performance Gallery and Lucy Florence Coffeehouse and Cultural Center. Be sure to stop by Eso Won Bookstore on Degnan Boulevard, which has what is considered to be the largest collection of African American literature in the U.S.

Lured to the San Francisco Bay Area to work in the shipyards during World War II, African Americans now comprise 35 percent of the population of Oakland, which has been a hotbed of popular music and culture for decades. Try Yoshi’s for live jazz, or Eli’s Mile High Club for blues.

Across the Bay in San Francisco are a number of acclaimed theater and ballet companies, including Alonzo King’s Lines Ballet, African American Shakespeare Company, and Robert Moses’ Kin, among many others. Just over an hour’s drive away, Maestro Michael Morgan, one of the nation’s leading African American conductors, leads the Sacramento Philharmonic.

San Diego’s WorldBeat Center promotes African culture through music, art and dance.

African American Pioneers

Mountaineer Jim Beckwourth discovered a pass through the Sierra Nevada Mountains in 1850, and built the Beckwourth Trail to lead wagon trains from Reno, Nevada to Marysville, California.

Biddy Mason was one of the first African-American women to own property in L.A. This African American pioneer was born a slave and she walked from the South to find freedom in Los Angeles. Mason also co-founded the First African Methodist Episcopal Church. See a memorial of her achievements at Biddy Mason Park.

Lt. Col. Allen Allensworth founded a town to help African Americans relocate to California and escape discrimination. At its height, Allensworth was home to roughly 200 black families. You can visit the Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park.

The unique African American Firefighter Museum in Los Angeles preserves the history of segregated and desegregated black firefighters in the city.

The Civil Rights Era

California played a major role in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s and 70s. Explore this history at the Watts Museum of Art, History & Culture in Los Angeles, the Malcom X Library and Performing Arts Center in San Diego, and in Oakland on a Black Panther bus tour.