Steve McCutchen, Dr. Saturu Ned, Katherine Campbell at de Fremery House in Lil’ Bobby Hutton Park

There are a number of walking tours around Oakland, especially if food is your thing. When it comes to tours focused on history, there are fewer options: Oakland Urban Paths, Oakland Heritage Alliance, city of Oakland walking tours, and Mountain View Cemetery. And when it comes to black history tours, there’s only one regularly scheduled tour, the city of Oakland’s “New Era, New Politics” tour, which occurs on various Wednesday and Saturdays, May through October.

“New Era, New Politics” focuses on the political changes that came about in Oakland as African Americans started being elected to city council, mayor, and other positions. I’ve led it a number of times, and people are sometimes disappointed that it doesn’t cover more about the Black Panther Party. When I give it, I talk about Bobby Seale’s run for Oakland mayor, but there’s too much to cover in 90 minutes.

Read more…