"Located near Hayward in Alameda County, Russell City was once home to mostly Black, Latino and poor white families boxed out of other Bay Area neighborhoods by redlining and the cost of living. But in the 1960s, after the county refused to extend water and sewer service to Russell City, it was declared it a "blight," and used eminent domain laws to bulldoze the community and displace more than 1,000 residents."
"A few years ago, the City of Hayward made a formal apology to former residents, acknowledging that the destruction of Russell City was part of a nationwide pattern of displacing communities of color. And this year, lawmakers are considering a program that would give people in similar situations a chance to apply for money or land as compensation. It's called Assembly Bill 62, and it's part of California's wider reparations proposal."
Russell City, near Hayward in Alameda County, housed mostly Black, Latino, and poor white families excluded by redlining and high housing costs. In the 1960s the county refused to extend water and sewer service, declared the area blight, used eminent domain to bulldoze the community, and displaced over 1,000 residents. Hayward later issued a formal apology and acknowledged the demolition as part of a nationwide pattern of displacing communities of color. Lawmakers are considering Assembly Bill 62 to let displaced people apply for money or land as compensation as part of California's broader reparations proposal, drawing on precedents such as Germany's reparations for Holocaust survivors.
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