COMMUNITY ACTIVISM IN OAK PARK: COMPETING AGENDAS ...

The neighborhood of Oak Park has undergone significant developmental changes
since the 1930s, when it was described as Sacramento’s first suburban neighborhood.
Originally a farming community, the neighborhood was a destination for European
immigrants. Shortly thereafter, the neighborhood soon saw an influx of working-class
residents and economic development. Oak Park acquired the services that were typical of
suburbs of the era, such as a newspaper, grocery stores, schools, law enforcement, and an
amusement park, Joyland. Connected to Sacramento by the streetcar system, Oak Park
was established as a commuter suburb, with many outside residents being shuttled to the
neighborhood of Oak Park.
But with the closure of Joyland in 1927, the use of the neighborhood streetcar
system began to decrease in popularity. Businesses began to close after the closure of
Joyland, which began a downward economic condition of Oak Park’s business district.
And the increased use of buses and cars in the 1950s began to give people the freedom to
commute in a different way to different places. The construction of a freeway in the
neighborhood in the 1960s followed the burgeoning car culture, which would leave the
opportunity for urban blight to develop.
The city of Sacramento did not have a large African-American population during
the formative years of Oak Park. African-Americans, and many others, discovered
California and Sacramento during the Second World War, either as military personnel, or
as workers in the wartime industries. After the war, many stayed in Sacramento, or came
back later. “By the middle of the 20 th century, the predominantly white neighborhood of
Oak Park had shifted to being a mostly African-American neighborhood, in part due to
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