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Reporting by Lara Heard<\/p>\n
The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) is showing Black Spaces: Reclaim & Remain<\/a> through March 1. The exhibition explores the concept of home\u2014including when it\u2019s taken away by forces like eminent domain\u2014through the histories of local Black communities.<\/p>\n To tell these stories, the exhibit showcases a combination of artwork, including an installation by Oakland artist Adrian Burrell, and historical materials.<\/p>\n The exhibition spotlights two East Bay Black communities: Russell City, in present-day Hayward, which was destroyed by the city of Hayward and Alameda County to pave the way for an industrial park, and West Oakland, the \u201cHarlem of the West\u201d and home to the Black Panther Party\u2019s Central HQ until 1972<\/a>. That community endured despite urban renewal, when, according to OMCA, 1,000 people were displaced just to build a post office.<\/p>\n Dania Talley, OMCA\u2019s associate curator of history, says the exhibit \u201ctell[s] the story of West Oakland and Russell City, but we do acknowledge that this is a nationwide issue.\u201d There are countless examples of Black communities and businesses being destroyed across the U.S. to make way for projects like highways<\/a> and city parks<\/a>. In Santa Monica, for example, the city seized a nascent Black business in the 1950s. That history inspired Autumn Breon to create a\u00a0multidisciplinary art event<\/a>. (In November, the city settled with the family of the business owner<\/a> for $350,000.)<\/p>\n But equally important is the exhibition\u2019s emphasis on the people who remained and the work they\u2019ve done\u2014and will do\u2014in their homes and communities. OMCA included input from local architect June Grant of blink!LAB<\/a>, offering a look at how Oakland could transform in years to come.<\/p>\n The exhibition also includes works from the local Archive of Urban Futures<\/a> and Moms 4 Housing<\/a>, a housing activist group that fights homelessness.<\/p>\n Talley says that she took inspiration from bell hooks\u2019s concept of the Homeplace<\/a>: an intentional space of care and resistance, particularly by Black women, in a world rife with racism and oppression. It\u2019s also the title of one historical section of the exhibition, which provides a look at the arrival of Black American migrants in California. For Black Americans, she says, a home is a safe haven: \u201cIt\u2019s the place where you don\u2019t have to worry about discrimination, and it\u2019s a place where you can truly be yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n One of the things that I really wanted to work towards was getting away from that negative point of view that Black communities are slums, and really trying to focus on the care that Black people put into their homes.\u201d<\/p>\n Dania Talley, associate curator of history at OMCA<\/p>\n The artists on display have a special connection to home: Rashaad Newsome\u2019s Parenting While Black (see above), for example, was created at home during the pandemic. \u201cOne of the things that I really wanted to work towards was getting away from that negative point of view that Black communities are slums, and really trying to focus on the care that Black people put into their homes,\u201d Talley says. \u201cThey really understand the weight of what a home is and how it can build generational wealth, which is why it was so significant for them to be freed and then have the opportunity to buy land or to purchase a home.\u201d<\/p>\n That effort to safeguard and care for one\u2019s home historically extended to the whole community\u2014particularly when the city would not provide the amenities Black residents needed. In Russell City, residents worked together to buy a fire truck<\/a> in the 1940s. In West Oakland, residents held a regular clean-up day\u2014photos that show this in the exhibition are dated between 1964 and 1970. \u201cOne of the reasons why is because the city of Oakland did not provide them with waste management,\u201d Talley says.<\/p>\n Black Spaces: Reclaim & Remain is on view until Sunday, March 1. OMCA is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. For more information on visiting hours and ticket prices, visit OMCA\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n About the Author <\/p>\n ![\"Avatar](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/cropped-Lara-Heard-144x144.jpeg\")
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