About Fruitvale History Project

The Fruitvale community in Oakland, California is a vibrant community with a rich history. The early days of settlement by the hacendados is well documented and books have been written about the Latino presence in Oakland from the 1930s-1960s. What is less well documented are the turbulent political years from the mid 1960’s to the early 1980’s in the Fruitvale community. The 1960’s brought the civil rights movement, the anti-war movement, and the beginnings of many struggles for economic and social justice to the nation, to Oakland, and to the Fruitvale community.

It was during this period that many social service agencies were created in the Fruitvale such as Centro Legal and La Clinica de la Raza, in order to fill the legal and health needs that were lacking.  The Spanish Speaking Unity Council had been created to address economic development in the area; the Narcotics Education League made drug abuse an issue that could be treated rather than hidden; El Centro Infantil and La Escuelita were formed by parents who wanted to see a more culturally relevant approach to education. These are but a few of the organizations that still exist today because of the struggles by the people of that era to bring much needed services to the community. 

The Fruitvale History Project was formed in 2013 to preserve the memory and legacy of these decades. We have chosen to capture the times by conducting interviews with those who participated in the social/political upheaval that led to the creation of these community service agencies and who also participated in social justice organizations and movements for social change and human rights such as the Anti-Bakke Movement, the Barlow Benavidez Committee Against Police Crimes, and the United Farm Workers. 

Our intent is to bring these stories to the public, so that present and future generations may continue to preserve them and most importantly, learn from them. We have conducted over 50 interviews since beginning our project. We interviewed men and women who were participants in the movement for social change in the Fruitvale who are in their 60’s and 70’s today.  Though we know it is not possible to get everyone’s story, we have chosen a cross section of people representing health, law, education, and the arts to begin to piece together Fruitvale history during its most socially and politically active decades.  This is a project that has no end… as long as there are stories, and people to tell them.

Do you have a story to tell?  Contact us: fruitvalehistory@gmail.com