San Leandro Will Get Its Own History Book
By Margarita Lacabe
Former San Leandro librarian Cindy Simons has been engaged to write a history of San Leandro for the Images of America book series issued by Arcadia Publishing. The series has included books on the history of San Lorenzo, Castro Valley, and various sections of Hayward and Oakland, among other Bay Area locations.
Before her retirement, Mrs. Simons was in charge of the History Room at the San Leandro library. She published a booklet on the history of San Leandro for the Alameda County Historical Society. I think she’s the ideal person for the job and trust that she will not shy away from writing about the blemishes in San Leandro’s past.
San Leandro has an unfortunate history of racial discrimination, in particular against blacks. Until recently, over 90% of the population was white and blacks were kept out by an agreement of homeowners, neighborhood associations, and realtors to not show or sell homes to people of color. African Americans who crossed the Oakland border into San Leandro were followed and harassed by the police. In 1967 the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights held hearings on housing discrimination in San Leandro, but it wasn’t until the 1980s that the city started to become integrated. San Leandro is now one of the most diverse cities in the state, a fact which we should all cherish.
City officials, and in particular City Manager John Jermanis (who has worked for the city of San Leandro since it was an all-white enclave), have labored hard to hide this history from new residents. In 2005, Jermanis and library services director David Bohne commissioned a book on the history of San Leandro to mark the 100th anniversary of the city. The book was supposed to be comprehensive and be used in schools and at the museum. However, when the writer they’d engaged proposed to cover the issue of housing discrimination in the city and to interview Not a Genuine Black Man author Brian Copeland, Jermanis cancelled the project.
The Images of America San Leandro book is expected to come out by October 2008.
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