Art is a cornerstone of Bay Area culture. The murals, street performers, lowriders, and music are unique with homegrown roots. This Juneteenth we want to highlight how Black folks have contributed to this culture. Through discriminatory policies, political and cultural movements, and most recently gentrification Black folks continue to shape the Bay while fighting for their right to remain home. Even when the mainstream media situates the Bay as a white tech haven that has decimated all culture and all Black people have disappeared, as people living in the Bay area, we know this isn’t fully true. Black people are still here, even living and creating beautiful experiences for themselves and their communities. The Malcom X JazzArts Festival, the Eastside Arts Alliance, and the annual Juneteenth celebrations on both sides of the Bay are spaces for Black folks to come together, experience joy, and remain in their homes. 

With gentrification, Black folks have been pushed out of historically Black communities such as the Fillmore and West Oakland. These neighborhoods grew from the influx of Black folks fleeing the constraints of Jim Crow in the South and pursuing the promise of economic prosperity in the Bay. There were opportunities to work in the shipyards in the Bay, although discriminatory housing laws also known as redlining were unwelcoming to Black people. Nonetheless, the lucrative job market allowed communities of Black folks to grow and create hubs of culture on both sides of the Bay. In Oakland, the development of the historic Seventh Street corridor became a center for Black commerce and culture that included Black-owened businesses and a vibrant nightlife. The city’s jazz scene fostered the environment that allowed West Coast blues to bloom. In San Francisco, Black folks occupied the Fillmore district which had grown into an entertainment destination with venues such as the Fillmore Auditorium among other local clubs. The Fillmore welcomed the era’s most popular Black artists and became known as the “Harlem of the West.”

About 20 years later, the Black Panther Party was born in Oakland. A revolutionary militant Black power organization that fought to change the material conditions of Black folks. As part of their work, they incorporated culture into their programming, with artists like Emory Douglas and Tarika Lewis contributing imagery to the organization’s newspaper. At the same time, the Bay Area Black Artists Collective exhibited their work around Oakland and the East Bay. Simultaneously, saxophonist John Handy was exploring sonic territory with free jazz. Other artists to note during this time are Ted Pontiflet, a printmaker and photographer, and writers Ishmael Reed and Marvin X.

The Bay is famously known as the birthplace of hyphy. Although coined by Keak Da Sneak back in 1994, in the early 2000’s artists like E-40, Too Short, and Mac Dre brought the Bay Area sound to the world. A Bay Area culture shaped by the Black community that encapsulates a sound, style, dance, sideshows, art, and everything in between. This sound is still heard today and has influenced music all across the United States. Not only has Bay Area culture influenced mainstream culture, it has also given birth to famous Black artists such as Danny Glover, H.E.R., Ryan Coogler, and many more! At Causa Justa :: Just Cause, we fight for housing and against criminalization in the hopes that we can continue creating a Bay Area wide community that nourishes and supports Black folks.