The Oakland Museum of California recently announced the opening of a new exhibit dedicated to exploring the work of Black artists and activists across Oakland and the East Bay.
Titled “Black Spaces: Reclaim and Remain,” the exhibit features both artwork and historical objects on display. It primarily focuses on the rich histories of Russell City and West Oakland, two communities both located in the East Bay.
Set to run through March 1, 2026, “Black Spaces” narrates the journey of Black residents throughout the two locations, highlighting three major themes: Homeplace, Social Fabric, and Dispossession and Repair. Through testimonies and primary objects such as photos and keepsakes, the exhibit focuses on the building of Black communities, the culture of these communities, such as jazz venues and Black-owned businesses, as well as the subsequent displacement and redevelopment by Black residents.
The exhibit also fuses the past with the present by featuring work by emerging artists, such as Adrian Burrell. Architect June Grant is also featured as her designs to combat redlining and create an equitable future for the communities are also on display. The grassroots group Moms 4 Housing is also given a platform to discuss the ongoing housing issues across West Oakland.
“We are honored to bring Black Spaces to OMCA as a meditation on how Black communities continue to create spaces of belonging and resistance despite systemic challenges,” said the museum’s Associate Curator of History, Dania Talley.
In the 1940s, the Bay Area became a popular destination for Black residents due to the increasing number of jobs available. The War Manpower Commission had advertised that openings for shipbuilding were available in the newly acquired Naval Docks in Hunters Point, leading to many Black Southerners leaving their homes in search of a job.
Between 1940 and 1945, the number of Black residents in the area increased significantly, rising from fewer than 20,000 to over 60,000. The communities continued to grow as more wartime jobs became available.
In places such as Fillmore, the history of these Black communities expanded to include a growing jazz culture, as clubs like Jimbo’s Bop City and the New Orleans Swing Club helped support the thriving careers of legendary artists like Billie Holiday, Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie.
The Bay Area continued to play a pivotal role in Black history, housing the Lorraine Hansberry Theater and the influential radio station KMEL. The first Black studies program department and the first integrated interfaith church in the country, the Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples, were also located in the area.
Starting from the 1970s, however, the communities became involved in an ongoing history of displacement.
Along with mortgage redlining, a practice known as denying funds to certain communities due to race or ethnicity, creating an ongoing racial wealth gap, Black homeowners in the area were harmed by the foreclosure crisis in the late 2000s and early 2010s, according to the Bay Area Equity Atlas, due to the number of high-interest loans from lenders.
The lasting effects of both mortgage redlining and the foreclosure crisis have contributed to the ongoing housing crisis and a higher cost of living in the area.
Since the 2010s, more than 5,000 Black-owned households have been lost in historic neighborhoods.
With the newest exhibit, however, “Black Spaces” shines a light on the activists who are helping address this issue.
“The voices and stories in this exhibition invite us all to reflect on reclaiming and reimagining home,” said the Executive Director of the museum, Lori Fogarty, per a statement.
