Portfolio
Oakland, California · 1950 – 2020
The Erasure of a Community
During the Great Migration, Oakland emerged as a "Black Mecca", serving as a vibrant, culturally and economically rich epicenter for Black communities on the West Coast. However, discriminatory lending policies, systemic disinvestment, targeted displacement, and, most recently, mass gentrification, have gutted the city's Black communities. The Black population, which once made up almost half of Oakland, now accounts for merely one in five residents.
−26 pts
Black share of Oakland population
47.0% (1980) → 20.8% (2020) · Bay Area Metro Census ↗
−68K
Black residents lost, 1980–2020
159,351 (1980) → 91,561 (2020) · Bay Area Metro Census ↗
−6.5 pts
Drop in Black share of population, 2010–2020
27.3% (2010) → 20.8% (2020) · Bay Area Metro Census ↗
34.6%
Black homeownership rate (2024)
vs. 57.6% for white Oaklanders · ACS 2024 B25003 ↗
Demographic Shift
Black Population Over Time
% of Oakland's total population identifying as Black or African American, 1950–2020.1950–1990: Bay Area Metro Census Historical Data · 2000–2020: Bay Area Metro Census Population
1950
12.4%
12.4% 47,562 residents
1960
22.8%
22.8% 83,618 residents
1970
34.5%
34.5% 124,710 residents
1980
47.0% — historic peak
47.0% 159,351 residents
1990
43.9%
43.9% 163,526 residents
2000
35.1%
35.1% 140,139 residents
2010
27.3%
27.3% 106,637 residents
2020
20.8%
20.8% 91,561 residents
Wealth & Housing Access
The Ownership Gap
The ramifications of redlining in the 1930s, which systemically denied Black families mortgages and led to widespread disinvestment in African-American communities, can still be clearly seen today.
Homeownership Rate by Race (Oakland, 2024) · ACS 2024 B25003 ↗
White
57.6%
Asian
42.9%
Latino
36.1%
Black
34.6%
White (non-Hispanic): 35,776 owner / 62,145 total · Asian: 14,209 / 33,141 · Latino: 14,323 / 39,648 · Black: 13,188 / 38,079 · ACS 2024 1-Year Estimate
Median Household Income by Race (Oakland, 2024) · ACS S1903 ↗
White
~$157K
Asian
~$112K
Latino
~$68K
Black
~$54K
Poverty Rate by Race (Oakland, 2024) · ACS S1701 ↗
Black
~25.8%
Latino
~20.1%
Asian
~11.5%
White
~8.2%
Citywide cost-burdened renters (>30% income on rent): ~56% (2024), up from ~50% (2010) · ACS estimates.
Methodology
How This Map Was Built

This mapping project was made possible primarily due to the large swaths of aggregate census data available on Oakland, California, as well as historic redlining data that has been digitized by the University of Richmond's Mapping Inequality Project. All of this data includes Geo-IDs — locational references that can be integrated with open-source mapping tools like OpenStreetMap to attach spatial significance to statistics.

By pulling all of this GeoJSON data and feeding it into an OpenStreetMap browser integration, I was able to create a visualization of key factors such as social vulnerability, displacement risk, real estate costs, and demographics, with toggleable layers. I also added other points of interest like the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, and the two major highways that cut through Oakland's historic Black neighborhoods.

I also sourced historic data from the Bay Area Metro Census to chart the contraction of Oakland's Black population in the last 50 years. Combining this with data from the Census Bureau painted a compelling picture of the decline, and often outright erasure, of Oakland's once vigorous Black population.

Sources Mapping Inequality — University of Richmond, Digital Scholarship Lab
MTC/ABAG Social Vulnerability Index — accessed via DSL Richmond
U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey (ACS)
Bay Area Metro Census Population — Metropolitan Transportation Commission
Alameda County Data Hub
OpenStreetMap
Kleniewski, N., & Thomas, A. (2019). Cities, change, and conflict: A political economy of urban life. Routledge. Ch: African Americans in Cities.
Area Detail
Hover over a census tract or redlining zone to see details.