OAKLAND

OAKLAND. Located on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay, Oakland is the eighth largest city in California, with a population of 399,484, according to the 2000 census. While the city is racially and ethnically diverse, African Americans constitute its largest group. Oakland is a major industrial center for the state, and boasts extensive port facilities that serve a growing trade with Asia. The city was originally incorporated in 1854, on land carved out of a Spanish-era land grant. The city's fortunes began to rise in 1869 with its selection as the western port terminus of the first transcontinental railroad. By the early twentieth century, Oakland increasingly rivaled San Francisco as the key urban center for the bay area. During World War II, federal investments in shipyards and manufacturing plants sparked economic expansion and attracted large numbers of African Americans seeking industrial employment. In 1962, Oakland's economy was bolstered by extensive harbor renovations, making it the first U.S. port capable of handling containerized shipping. During the same decade, however, the city witnessed growing social tensions, and became the birthplace of the radical Black Panther movement. In the 1980s and 1990s, Oakland had some serious setbacks. Major plant closures shrank the city's industrial base. In addition, the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989 and wildfires in 1991 caused considerable infrastructure damage.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bagwell, Beth. Oakland: The Story of a City. Novato, Calif.: Presidio Press, 1982.

Johnson, Marilynn S. The Second Gold Rush: Oakland and the East Bay in World War II. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993.

Eric Fure-Slocum

Daniel J.Johnson

See alsoBlack Panthers ; California ; San Francisco .