[1] Most notably the 1960s formation of the Black Panther Party happened in city of Oakland, which also served as the headquarters.
The two counties that comprise the East Bay Area, Alameda and Contra Costa, are estimated at 11% and 10% Black, respectively.
[4][7] The Black population has declined since the 1980s, and since then the entire San Francisco Bay Area has experienced more affluent residents as a result of gentrification.
[4][1] Students Huey Newton and Bobby Seale founded the Black Panther Party in 1966 at Merritt College (then located at a former high school on Grove Street, now occupied by Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute), which emphasized Black nationalism, advocated armed self-defense against police, and was involved in several incidents that ended in the deaths of police officers and other Black Panther members.
[9][10] Many Black celebrities grew up in Oakland, such as NFL player Marshawn Lynch,[11] and rapper MC Hammer.