SAN FRANCISCO-On the website www.sfexodus.com it's interesting to note that George Bush and George Washington are the names of Black leaders instrumental in leading Blacks during the 1858 Exodus.  The San Francisco African American Historical & Cultural Society (the Society), in collaboration with the African American Art and Culture Complex, the San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau, the University of San Francisco, the Port of San Francisco, the San Francisco National Historical Park and the San Francisco Unified School District, have scheduled activities during the week of April 20, 2008 to commemorate the 1858 Exodus of more than 200 African Americans from San Francisco to Victoria, BC.  The commemoration of the 1858 Exodus is also a backdrop to examine the contemporary African American emigration from San Francisco.  Over the past seven years, San Francisco has lost fifty percent of its Black population.  

Commemorative events will include an Ecumenical Service, co-sponsored by 150 year old First AME Zion Church, a symbolic launching of the Commodore at the Hyde Street Pier, a reception at the Port of San Francisco, a Scholars' Forum at Bethel AME Church, Joint meetings of the Society's and SFUSD History Teachers' book clubs and presentations at the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and the Port Commission meetings.

In the journal Phylon Robert W. O�Brien wrote that �(i)n 1858 some eight hundred colored persons migrated from California to the British Crown Colony of Victoria.  The story back of this migration is one of discrimination and legal strangulation which made California virtually a slave state.

The commemorative events will educate people about a little known part of the City's history and about the courage and enduring struggle of African Americans to escape from slavery and find freedom.  "This is just another indicator that Black History is human history and it impacts more than just Black people.  Black History cannot be limited to one month of the year," said Al Williams, President of the Society.  "Although this is a sad page in the history of multicultural San Francisco which compels one to draw parallels to the present day exodus of Blacks, our focus during this commemoration is to bring healing and to help our city, state and nation avoid repeating history."

The website www.sfexodus.com adds a present day element by including the San Francisco "Slavery Disclosure Ordinance" introduced by Supervisor Sophie Maxwell and co-sponsored by Supervisor Ross Mirkarmi.  The ordinance requires all major corporations doing business with the City of San Francisco to disclose any past ties to the slave trade and sets up a voluntary fund that will be used to heal and ameliorate hardships caused by slavery:
www.sfgov.org/site/uploadedfiles/oca/Chapter12YSanFranciscoSlaveryDisclosureOrdinance.doc

Calendar of Events
April 20, 2008

3:00-5:00 PM
Ecumenical Service
African American Art and Culture Complex
762 Fulton Street
San Francisco, CA

April 22, 2008

10:00AM � 12:00 PM
Symbolic Launching of the Commodore
Hyde Street Pier
San Francisco, CA

1:30 � 2:30PM
Presentation
San Francisco Board of Supervisors
City Hall
San Francisco, CA

3:30 � 4:30PM
Presentation
San Francisco Port Commission
Ferry Building
San Francisco, CA

5:30 � 7:30PM
Reception
Port of San Francisco
Pier 1
Conference Room
San Francisco, CA

April 24, 2008

4:15 � 6:15PM
AAHCS/SFUSD History Teachers Book Club
African American Art and Culture Complex
762 Fulton Street
2nd Floor
San Francisco, CA

April 25, 2008

12:00 � 3:00PM
Scholars Forum
Bethel AME Church
916 Laguna Street
San Francisco, CA

For more information about the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the 1858 Black Exodus: San Francisco to Victoria, BC call the San Francisco African Historical & Cultural Society at 415 / 292-6172 or visit the Exodus website at www.sfexodus.com.

In related news, Roland Washington interviewed Professor Rhonda Magee with law students, Nicole Bryson and Chester L. McGensy III about the Black Exodus.   Here is a link to the podcast: http://www.justicefound.org/ and the link to the audio stream: http://www.justicefound.org/stream/index.html .

Historian John William Templeton Saturday, conducted "the April Milestones of Black Heritage Tour."  According to Templeton, five major milestones of California's African-American heritage occurred in April; the opening of the state's first public school on April 3, 1848; the first edition of the San Francisco Elevator on April 7, 1865; the dedication of the City's only state heritage landmark recognizing Black History on April 10, 1995 to mark the original site of Third Baptist Church; the Exodus of 20 percent of the state's black population to Victoria, British Columbia beginning April 20, 1858 and Jazz Appreciation Month in April. At least four of the buildings that housed some of the first jazz clubs in history still stand on Pacific Ave in San Francisco. The tour began at Leidesdorff Street ( named after  William Alexander Leidesdorff, first Black millionaire of Danish, Jewish and Black descent, an American Consul who built the first public school in California) up to Telegraph Hill. Templeton is editor of "Our Roots Run Deep: the Black Experience in California, Vols. 1-4."


About The San Francisco African American Historical & Cultural Society

The San Francisco African American Historical & Cultural Society (the "Society") was founded in 1955.  Its mission is to document, preserve and present the history and culture of San Francisco�s African American Community.  The Society is a membership-based institution, open to all who support its mission.