[2] The neighborhood has suffered from high rates of crime,[3] gang activity,[4] and poverty since the decline of Oakland's industrial economy in the late 20th century.

Seventh Street was an African-American cultural center of Oakland from the 1940s to the 1960s, due to nightclubs such as Slim Jenkins' Place, Esther's Orbit Room and the Lincoln Theater, which drew top blues and jazz performers from across the United States.

[7] At the corner of Tenth and Center Streets, Huey P. Newton, founder of the Black Panther Party, was gunned down in an alleged failed drug deal on August 22, 1989.

American Steel Studios, Horn Barbecue, and the Cypress Freeway Memorial Park are all located on Mandela Parkway and its southern end goes right into the West Oakland BART Station.

Dedicated in 1947, the park was named in honor of Ernie Raimondi (1919–1945), a minor league baseball player and WWII veteran who grew up in Oakland.

In June 2020, the BART Board of Directors approved a mixed-use housing and commercial development at the West Oakland BART station that will include 762 housing units, 30 percent of which will be designated as affordable, 50,000 square feet of retail space, 300,000 square feet of office space and various amenities such as wider sidewalks and more crosswalks for pedestrians.