Description
This in depth tour takes guests on a journey through Oakland’s Hoover-Foster neighborhood celebrating Black History and culture. The Black Liberation Walking Tour (BLWT) was rated by Condé Nast Traveler as one of the best Black History Tours in the United States. We will email you the tour's starting point after you RSVP, thanks!
About the Black Liberation Walking Tour (BLWT)
When most people think of Black history in the United States, they typically imagine the history of the American South, New York City’s Harlem, and Washington, D.C. This guided walking tour in Oakland, California, shares over 100 years of Black history in the American West, from the West Coast’s Civil Rights Movement and the Great Migration, to present-day stories of Oakland residents.
BLWT is a community-led cultural asset map celebrating Hoover-Foster’s multi-generational Black history and culture. A project of the West Oakland Cultural Action Network (WOCAN), the BLWT captures oral histories to document the lives, art, and the culture of long-time residents, historical figures, and rapidly disappearing former Black cultural spaces.
Highlights
Tour stops include the former site of St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church, which was the spiritual home of the local Black Panther Party; a former home of Delilah Beasley, one of the first Black women journalists to write for major American newspapers, and the former home of C.L. Dellums, vice-president of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP) and a central figure of the West Coast Civil Rights Movement.
This walking experience is guided by local native David Peters, founder of the West Oakland Cultural Action Network, and Gene Anderson, author of Legendary Locals of Oakland, an Oakland historian whose family has historical roots in West Oakland. Peters and Anderson are passionate story tellers sharing the history of this area with historical stories and proclaiming its Black Heritage.
What you'll do
This walking tour starts at the former site of St. Augustine's Episcopal Church and ends at the augmented reality enabled BLWT mural. The entire tour is 1.25 miles and takes 2 hours to complete.
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**Group booking available. Please email directly to: oakblwt@gmail.com
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