We commemorate February as Black Historical past month to function a memorial to the legacy of Civil Rights giants, who made attainable the benefit by which African Individuals are capable of matriculate right into a society, the place entry had been denied.
I’m reminded of Vallejo’s African-American pioneer, B.W. Williams, contractor/developer, who was the primary African American to construct a subdivision, Lofas/Lakeside Manor, particularly for Blacks, in Vallejo.
Mr. Williams ran a development firm, Williams & Jones Building, in Arizona,.and had come to the Bay Space in 1949 to construct tract properties in Pittsburg. The late Rev. Horace J. Morris, founding father of the Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, heard in regards to the venture in Pittsburg, and requested if Mr. Williams may construct homes in Vallejo for African Individuals who have been unable to lease or buy new properties, because of racism.
Regardless of the racial discrimination from the Ku Klux Klan, dumping constructing supplies deposited at a web site, in a swamp, to landowners altering their minds to promote, 260 properties have been constructed and the subdivision was established. The modest properties gave owners stability and pleasure of possession.
The mannequin subdivision was rife with owners who have been medical doctors, attorneys, educators, registered nurses, contractors, ministers and group leaders.
Notable African-American pioneers who resided in Lofas/Lakeside manor:
Dr. Edward Lopez, was the primary African-American doctor to be granted privileges at Vallejo Basic Hospital. He later grew to become the Medical Director of Solano County Public Well being Division and county hospitals. In 1966, Dr. Lopez was honored with the “Doctor of the 12 months” award from Solano County.
George L Perryman, DDS., ran a profitable dentistry for a few years.
Lewis F Brown, ESQ., grew to become the primary African-American Legal professional in Solano County to combine a regulation agency. Legal professional Brown was additionally the primary African American elected to Vallejo Metropolis Council. An entry highway is called in his honor.
Jesse M Bethel, A chemist by commerce, Mr. Bethel was a group chief who labored tirelessly to strengthen the group in training. He was the primary African American elected to the Vallejo college board and his legacy is memorialized within the 1998 opening of Jesse M Bethel Excessive College.
Jeweler Robert C. Brown and his spouse, gemologist Raynola Brown, owned and operated Brown’s Jeweler, a high-end jewellery retailer, for a few years, in downtown Vallejo.
Lofas/Lakeside Manor was acknowledged by the Vallejo Metropolis Council in 1992, as a Historic Landmark. Now 70 years previous, the panorama of the subdivision has modified however the pleasure stays.
I salute B W. Williams and the Williams & Jones Building Firm, for his imaginative and prescient, braveness, diligence, perseverance and ability, and all the pioneers who have been “First” in flattening partitions and doorways that gave entry to the following era.
(All data resourced from Vallejo Historic Museum and Vallejo Occasions-Herald obituaries)
— Pamela Cohen//Vallejo