African Americans of San Jose and Santa Clara County

Jan Batiste Adkins, Arcadia Publishing

Book Review: Craig MacDonald

You've probably read about prominent blacks, who lived in Santa Clara County, like U.S. and World Figure Skating Champion Debi Thomas, Olympic Track Sensations Tommie Smith & John Carlos and Dr. Harry Edwards, whose influence on athletes and athletic programs is evident today.

You may have even heard of San Jose Police Officer Les Brown, who later became renown as the nation's "Drug Czar" or Ivie Anderson, the little girl from Gilroy, who became Duke Ellington's famous singer, with such hits as, "It Don't Mean a Thing if it Ain't Got That Swing."

You can read more about these amazing people in Jan Batiste Adkins' latest book on African Americans. The historian/teacher provides numerous photos that really help bring these folks to life.

Adkins also highlights blacks who became Mayors, City Councilpersons, Judges and Professional Athletes. But much of the book features "unsung heroes," who made a real impact where they lived.

"Many, who have been quietly forgotten are reclaimed in this book," said Dr. Steven Millner of San Jose State University. Readers will be inspired by their determination, courage, dedication and selfless causes. A lot overcame obstacles, such as racial discrimination and economic struggles, to develop their communities with churches, schools, social and cultural organizations. The book shows many examples, including:

—Peter Williams Cassey, founder of St. Philips Mission, a school for blacks in 1868. The San Jose resident organized the Convention of Colored Citizens of California that met in his city.

—San Jose State Football Player Charley Alexander, creator of Good Brothers Pad, providing housing for black student athletes in 1955.

—Bertha Ellington, a member of the Negro Cultural Club, who constantly worked to improve the community.

—Robert Edward Osby, the first African American Fire Chief of San Jose, who recruited the city's first black female firefighter, Teresa Reed. (She would become Oakland's Fire Chief.)

A few others include: LaDoris Cordell, a Superior Court Judge that became Vice Provost of Stanford University; Ben Gross, Mayor of Milpitas; noted Sculptor, Mary Edmonia Lewis and Francine Wright Bellson, a physicist from MIT and scientist at IBM, who married legendary drummer Louie Bellson.

Adkins delves into the area's history. By the 1770s, people of African Ancestry traveled to Santa Clara County as laborers on expeditions and as soldiers & miners. In the Gold Rush years of the 1850s, some slaves were brought to California by Southern Plantation owners to work in the mines and on farms. Although California was a "free, non-slavery" state, the 1852 Santa Clara County Census shows 8 people with their occupation listed as "slaves."

James Williams had been a slave, working in the Sierra diggings of Negro Hill until he secured his freedom and moved to Santa Clara County in 1852. He became an exemplary, volunteer leader in the Santa Clara Fire Department, where a plaque honors him today.

The author shows that San Jose and Santa Clara County were a land of dreams and hopes for many. Lucy Turner Johnson became the first African American to graduate from what's known now as San Jose State University (California's First Public College).

Farming, the local universities, athletic programs, new auto manufacturing plants, the Aerospace Boom and later eruption of technology companies in Silicon Valley further attracted blacks to Santa Clara County.

"Many in today's California should be encouraged to embrace the spirit embodied by these pioneers," said Dr. Steven Millner.