I was 4 years old when my family was forced to move away from Russell City. Wow. When I saw that map and the name of "Herman's Store", it had not crossed my mind for 50 plus years until then.
The people that know of people implementing Urban Renewal, are still here today. They are NIMBYs that prevent density of housing, especially in rich-resourced areas (e.g. Rockridge, Piedmont, etc, Berkeley). #YIMBY
I love how they try to make it a white racism thing. We lived in that area for 30 years until two years ago. It never was a majority white area, and in the last 10 years the Asian and Indians have become the majority. The main push to clean up and modernize the decaying Russel City area was really done to build the huge industrial park area that is there now. Industrial Blvd now separates that commercial area from the housing areas.
I’m not saying there wasn’t but spinning it so everything is racist is your own little agenda. I was born and raised in lower Oakland in the 50’s and it was clean and safe. We used to walk down to Lake Merit as children. We all got along. Never saw any racial violence from either side. It’s way different now and it’s not because of white supremacy or racism and you know it. Work for peace not hate!
Enough with this race crap. My great grandmother had a little home in Daly City and they bulldozed her house to make westborough rd and serramonte shopping center. She and all the neighbors were Italian.. where is the news story and sympathy on them and their community or are only black people who had childhoods where they “played and had no cares in the world “ the only people we have to give sympathy to and give all of our attention?
Man structures. Nobody told your grandma and the Italian community to not have the balls to speak up. You over crying because black people know how to speak up against wrong doing g
Why don't you research and gather information from your great grandmother and family of those who lost their homes during that time and document it with photos and oral history and then contact the news instead of trying to take away from the actual story that's in front of you
I am Italian as well and I see where your coming from man. One difference I would point out is that when your great grandmother had to move, I'm pretty sure she could move to any neighborhood she could afford. Even if the neighborhood was prejudice against italians, they could learn English, cover the accent and change their name. It's very hard to tell they aren't "white" at that point. My italian ancestors did these things. Not saying it's right but our ancestors were accepted much earlier than our black brothers and sisters. Even if blacks could afford it they would not be allowed to and instead only be sold homes in certain neighborhoods. In hayward this would mainly be kelly hill which is an unincorporated hayward neighborhood (you can't vote on anything city related if you live in these areas).
Russell City isn't a real place, in the same way that Santa Clara and Cherryland in Hayward, also aren't real cities either. These are neighborhoods within cities. It's like people calling Willow Glen in San Jose its own city when it isn't and never was. If you want to talk about lost cities, there are none. California has only 1 city that is a CITY and is lost, in the way that it never grew the way it should have, California City. All others are just neighborhoods or suburban tract developments of cities.
I was wondering if Russel City was incorporated during the 60's and then demolished bc it would never be able to be brought up to code for an incorporated city but the news mistakenly said that it is currently part of unincorporated ALCO like why told them that lie?
Correction: Willow Glen in San Jose was its own city for a brief time in the late 1920s to prevent the Southern Pacific from going through it. Perhaps other comparisons could be drawn with the Burbank, Fruitdale, Cambrian Park, and/or Robertsville districts of San Jose.
