New Book Reveals History of African Americans of San Francisco

Jan. 2, 2012 - PRLog -- New from Arcadia Publishing’s popular Images of America series is African Americans of San Francisco by local author Jan Batiste Adkins. This pictorial history boasts more than 200 vintage images and provides readers with a unique opportunity to reconnect with the history that shaped their community.

Beginning in the 1840s, black men and women heard the call to go west, migrating to California in search of gold, independence, freedom, and land to call their own. By the mid-1850s, a lively African American community had taken root in San Francisco. Churches and businesses were established, schools were built, newspapers were published, and aid societies were formed.

For the next century, the history of San Francisco’s African American community mirrored the nation’s slow progress toward integration with triumphs and setbacks depicted in images of schools, churches, protest movements, business successes, and political struggles.

Highlights of African Americans of San Francisco include:
•   The leadership of several black pioneers who had settled in San Francisco during the gold rush and throughout the nineteenth century.
•   The contributions of black women early in San Francisco’s history who pioneered in church development, civil rights, theatre, and community service.
•   Images of African American men and women of the twentieth century documenting the development of a thriving black community and its leadership.
•   Many of the images have been donated from private collections of local residents and organizations.
•   Photographs of contemporary community leaders who have affected the lives of bay area citizens.
•   Images of the Buffalo soldiers of the Presidio who served as the first Forest Service patrols at Yosemite.
•   Depicts the critical role of organized labor in overcoming discriminatory employment practices.

Available at area bookstores, independent retailers, and online retailers, or through Arcadia Publishing at (888)-313-2665 or www.arcadiapublishing.com.

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With more than 7,500 local history titles published to date, Arcadia Publishing is the leading publisher of local and regional history in the United States. Widely recognized sepia books feature hundreds of vintage historical images.