Some call it the Bay Area’s lost city, Russell City. What happened to the town remains an ugly chapter in Alameda County’s history. Education and reparations are something residents are still fighting for today.
“We’re not talking about somewhere in the South … we’re talking about somewhere that’s in the heart of Alameda County.” Aisha Knowles’ father, James, grew up in Russell City.
Russell City, a pre-dominatelly black and latino community, in Alameda County was bull dozed and sold off to developers in the 1960s. A neighborhood of about 1,400 people were forced out of the homes and businesses were lost. Today, Russell City is in unincorprated Alameda County, in Hayward. It starts at Winton West and Hesperian and ends near Hayward Regional Shoreline Park.
James Knowles’ family was one of many that were broken up when Alameda County and Hayward wanted to build an industrial park. His father lost his business. He says, "the city is gone, but the memories live on ... elected officials did this over a dollar. There was a game they had and they fulfilled it because they had the eminent domain card."
Today, Aisha Knowles has been on a journey to learn about her family’s past, fighting for reparations and to make sure the history is taught.
In the first of a two-part series in our ongoing series, “Race in America: the Conversation," Jodi Hernandez shows us the history that is rarely known or talked about.
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