The history of Black Americans in San Francisco runs deep and wide, and we have curated several exciting tours to showcase some prominent figures.
Available any time of year
1840s San Francisco and the Astonishing Legacy of America’s “First Black Millionaire”
Even before the Gold Rush, a biracial sea captain named William Leidesdorff rose to prominence and power as a businessman, diplomat, and public servant while amassing one of the most enormous fortunes in California. Follow in his footsteps and explore the early days of our city in 1840s San Francisco and the Astonishing Legacy of America’s First Black Millionaire.
The always resourceful and entrepreneurial Mary Ellen Pleasant established multiple businesses during the Gold Rush. She, too, amassed a considerable fortune during the Gilded Age. Pleasant invested her wealth in the fight against slavery, operating the West Coast terminus of the Underground Railroad and bankrolling major abolitionist actions on a national scale. She even played a key role in the fight for fair access to public transportation—100 years before Rosa Parks. Visit the location of Pleasant’s home and hear her story on the Japantown tour. The Japantown tour will also introduce you to the “Harlem of the West,” the jazz scene that flourished in San Francisco during the Second Great Migration when Black families arrived in the Fillmore to work in the shipyards. San Francisco giants like Maya Angelou and Leola King emerged from this vibrant neighborhood. At the same time, more than 20 jazz clubs hosted regulars like Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane, Billie Holiday, and Charlie Parker.
Beat Generation in SF: Rebels, Writers, and Visionaries
During the same period, Beatnik Bob Kaufman went to San Francisco, where he became a key figure in the North Beach poetry scene. Of Black and Jewish heritage, his poetry was heavily influenced by jazz. While Kaufman was a founding editor of Beatitude, a cornerstone of Beat literature, he preferred spontaneous, jazz-inflected bursts often accompanied by musicians. This performative style earned him the nickname “the Black Rimbaud.” Discover Kaufman and other Beatniks on Beat Generation in SF: Rebels, Writers, and Visionaries.
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