Commentary

COMMENTARY: Women Making History

THE AFRO — For the first 144 years of our nation’s existence, the words, “all men are created equal” did not include the women of our country. Except in a few of the newer states west of the Mississippi River, women were denied the right to vote.

It is worth reflecting upon this harsh truth. For more than three-fifths of our nation’s existence, democracy did not exist for most of the women of our country.

Published

6 years ago

June 27, 2019

Congressman Elijah Cummings

By Congressman Elijah Cummings

As a people, we quite properly celebrate our past, the anniversaries of those moments in our history when Americans of conscience moved us closer to fulfilling our national ideals. In May and June of this year, our nation marks the Centennial of one of our most important and historic triumphs.

Expiating America’s Other Original Sin

For the first 144 years of our nation’s existence, the words, “all men are created equal” did not include the women of our country. Except in a few of the newer states west of the Mississippi River, women were denied the right to vote.

It is worth reflecting upon this harsh truth. For more than three-fifths of our nation’s existence, democracy did not exist for most of the women of our country.

Then, in 1919, after more than seven decades of struggle, the men then serving in our Congress finally voted to propose to the states for their ratification of the 19th Amendment to our Constitution guaranteeing women’s suffrage.

Recalling the struggle to achieve what UCLA Professor Ellen Carol DuBois has termed “the single greatest act of enfranchisement in American history” would be important at any time. It is especially relevant to our own time, however, when the voting rights of millions of Americans are under attack.

American men in 1919 and 1920 may have voted for women’s suffrage, but they did not “give” women the vote. Women (and men) fought for this most fundamental of our democratic rights, overcame difficult political obstacles, and won it.

Lessons For Our Time

As Professor DuBois reminded us in her recent Washington Post article, despite repeated setbacks, the Suffragists persisted — and, ultimately, their vision and determination prevailed.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/03/08/what-activists-today-can-learn-womens-suffrage-movement/?utm_term=.59e9f39f0f21.

Professor DuBois also articulates an even more compelling insight for our own time: the essential, but difficult, process of building and maintaining our progressive coalition in a national politics still dominated by issues of race.

As the University of Maryland’s Professor Sharon Harley elaborates in her excellent article for the U.S. Park Service, African American Women and the Nineteenth Amendment, the relationships among Caucasian and African American Suffragists were complex and often strained.

[https://www.nps.gov/articles/african-american-women-and-the-nineteenth-amendment.htm].

Prior to the Civil War, the abolition and women’s rights movements were intertwined and mutually supportive. Free abolitionist Black women like Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Maria W. Stewart, Henrietta Purvis, Harriet Forten Purvis, Sarah Remond, Mary Ann Shadd Cary and others were also prominent in the struggle for women’s rights.

As Professor Harley quite accurately informs us, however, after the Civil War, the movement for women’s suffrage became entwined with the national debates about the rights of former slaves and the meaning of citizenship.

With the proposal of the Fifteenth Amendment, which would enfranchise Black men but not women, these interracial, progressive coalitions began to seriously fragment.

Suffragists like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony deserve our nation’s respect for devoting their adult lives to extending the franchise.

A less comfortable historical truth, as Professor Harley and others have reminded us, is that Ms. Stanton, Ms. Anthony and other Caucasian Suffragists all too often threw their Black sisters and brothers under the political bus in their efforts to gain political support for women’s suffrage in the South.

Moreover, as the national debate about women’s suffrage came to a head, the impact of the “women’s vote” on Black political power became an important point of contention on both sides of the struggle for women’s suffrage.

This is why the vision, courage, fortitude and determination of Black Suffragists like Ms. Ida B. Wells, Ms. Mary Church Terrell, Ms. Augusta T. Chissell of Maryland, and so many others deserve our acknowledgement and commendation today as we celebrate one of the most transformative democratic victories of our past.

Often disparaged and discounted, these strong Black women of conscience continued to fight against the twin evils of legally enshrined racism and sexism. Largely through their efforts, the national political coalition advancing universal citizenship survived, and a more inclusive democracy prevailed.

The Struggle for Full Equality Continues

Even as we celebrate the Centennial of the 19th Amendment during the coming year, the work to perfect our Democracy continues. Like the Suffragists of our past, the women of our time are demanding equality, justice and opportunity for everyone, not just for themselves.

As the Chair of the National Democratic Party’s Platform Drafting Committee in 2016, I can attest that we Democrats are clear about where our progressive coalition must stand. Here, from our Platform, is our pledge to the American People, women and men alike:

“We are committed to ensuring full equality for women. Democrats will fight to end gender discrimination in the areas of education, employment, health care, or any other sphere. We will combat biases across economic, political, and social life that hold women back and limit their opportunities and also tackle specific challenges facing women of color. After 240 years, we will finally enshrine the rights of women in the Constitution by passing the Equal Rights Amendment. And we will urge U.S. ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.”

Our Democratic Party, not always a strong supporter of women’s equality in the 19th and early 20th Centuries, has become a committed advocate for gender equality today.

This is what the advocacy of a strong, united, progressive coalition can achieve.

I believe that the Suffragists of America’s past, Black and White alike, would approve.

Congressman Elijah Cummings represents Maryland’s 7th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives.

The opinions on this page are those of the writers and not necessarily those of the AFRO.
Send letters to The Afro-American • 1531 S. Edgewood St. Baltimore, MD 21227 or fax to 1-877-570-9297 or e-mail to editor@afro.com.

This article originally appeared in The Afro.

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Oakland Post: Week of November 5 – 11, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 5 – 11, 2025

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1 week ago

November 7, 2025

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Oakland Post: Week of October 29 – November 4, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of October 29 – November 4, 2025

Published

2 weeks ago

November 3, 2025

Oakland Post

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Past, Present, Possible! Oakland Residents Invited to Reimagine the 980 Freeway

Organizers ask attendees coming to 1233 Preservation Park Way to think of the event as a “time portal”—a walkable journey through the Past (harm and flourishing), Present (community conditions and resilience), and Future (collective visioning).

Published

3 weeks ago

October 27, 2025

Oakland Post

Hundreds of residents in West Oakland were forced out by eminent domain before construction began on the 980 freeway in 1968. Courtesy photo.

By Randolph Belle
Special to The Post

Join EVOAK!, a nonprofit addressing the historical harm to West Oakland since construction of the 980 freeway began in 1968, will hold a block party on Oct. 25 at Preservation Park for a day of imagination and community-building from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Organizers ask attendees coming to 1233 Preservation Park Way to think of the event as a “time portal”—a walkable journey through the Past (harm and flourishing), Present (community conditions and resilience), and Future (collective visioning).

Activities include:

Interactive Visioning: Site mapping, 3-D/digital modeling, and design activities to reimagine housing, parks, culture, enterprise, and mobility.
Story & Memory: Oral history circles capturing life before the freeway, the rupture it caused, and visions for repair.
Data & Policy: Exhibits on health, environment, wealth impacts, and policy discussions.
Culture & Reflection: Films, installations, and performances honoring Oakland’s creativity and civic power.

The site of the party – Preservation Park – itself tells part of the story of the impact on the community. Its stately Victorians were uprooted and relocated to the site decades ago to make way for the I-980 freeway, which displaced hundreds of Black families and severed the heart of West Oakland. Now, in that same space, attendees will gather to reckon with past harms, honor the resilience that carried the community forward, and co-create an equitable and inclusive future.

A Legacy of Resistance

In 1979, Paul Cobb, publisher of the Post News Group and then a 36-year-old civil-rights organizer, defiantly planted himself in front of a bulldozer on Brush Street to prevent another historic Victorian home from being flattened for the long-delayed I-980 Freeway. Refusing to move, Cobb was arrested and hauled off in handcuffs—a moment that landed him on the front page of the Oakland Tribune.

Cobb and his family had a long history of fighting for their community, particularly around infrastructure projects in West Oakland. In 1954, his family was part of an NAACP lawsuit challenging the U.S. Post Office’s decision to place its main facility in the neighborhood, which wiped out an entire community of Black residents.

In 1964, they opposed the BART line down Seventh Street—the “Harlem of the West.” Later, Cobb was deeply involved in successfully rerouting the Cypress Freeway out of the neighborhood after the Loma Prieta earthquake.

The 980 Freeway, a 1.6-mile stretch, created an ominous barrier severing West Oakland from Downtown. Opposition stemmed from its very existence and the national practice of plowing freeways through Black communities with little input from residents and no regard for health, economic, or social impacts. By the time Cobb stood before the bulldozer, construction was inevitable, and his fight shifted toward jobs and economic opportunity.

Fast-forward 45 years: Cobb recalled the story at a convening of “Super OGs” organized to gather input from legacy residents on reimagining the corridor. He quickly retrieved his framed Tribune front page, adding a new dimension to the conversation about the dedication required to make change. Themes of harm repair and restoration surfaced again and again, grounded in memories of a thriving, cohesive Black neighborhood before the freeway.

The Lasting Scar

The 980 Freeway was touted as a road to prosperity—funneling economic opportunity into the City Center, igniting downtown commerce, and creating jobs. Instead, it cut a gash through the city, erasing 503 homes, four churches, 22 businesses, and hundreds of dreams. A promised second approach to the Bay Bridge never materialized.

Planning began in the late 1940s, bulldozers arrived in 1968, and after years of delays and opposition, the freeway opened in 1985. By then, Oakland’s economic engines had shifted, leaving behind a 600-foot-wide wound that resulted in fewer jobs, poorer health outcomes, and a divided neighborhood. The harm of displacement and loss of generational wealth was compounded through redlining, disinvestment, drugs, and the police state. Many residents fled to outlying cities, while those who stayed carried forward the spirit of perseverance.

The Big Picture

At stake now is up to 67 acres of new, buildable land in Downtown West Oakland. This time, we must not repeat the institutional wrongs of the past. Instead, we must be as deliberate in building a collective, equitable vision as planners once were in destroying communities.

EVOAK!’s strategy is rooted in four pillars: health, housing, economic development, and cultural preservation. These were the very foundations stripped away, and they are what they aim to reclaim. West Oakland continues to suffer among the worst social determinants of health in the region, much of it linked to the three freeways cutting through the neighborhood.

The harms of urban planning also decimated cultural life, reinforced oppressive public safety policies, underfunded education, and fueled poverty and blight.

Healing the Wound

West Oakland was once the center of Black culture during the Great Migration—the birthplace of the Black Panther Party and home to the “School of Champions,” the mighty Warriors of McClymonds High. Drawing on that legacy, we must channel the community’s proud past into a bold, community-led future that restores connection, sparks innovation, and uplifts every resident.

Two years ago, Caltrans won a federal Reconnecting Communities grant to fund Vision 980, a community-driven study co-led by local partners. Phase 1 launched in Spring 2024 with surveys and outreach; Phase 2, a feasibility study, begins in 2026. Over 4,000 surveys have already been completed. This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity could transform the corridor into a blank slate—making way for accessible housing, open space, cultural facilities, and economic opportunity for West Oakland and the entire region.

Leading with Community

In parallel, EVOAK! is advancing a community-led process to complement Caltrans’ work. EVOAK! is developing a framework for community power-building, quantifying harm, exploring policy and legislative repair strategies, structuring community governance, and hosting arts activations to spark collective imagination. The goal: a spirit of co-creation and true collaboration.

What EVOAK! Learned So Far

Through surveys, interviews, and gatherings, residents have voiced their priorities: a healthy environment, stable housing, and opportunities to thrive. Elders with decades in the neighborhood shared stories of resilience, community bonds, and visions of what repair should look like.

They heard from folks like Ezra Payton, whose family home was destroyed at Eighth and Brush streets; Ernestine Nettles, still a pillar of civic life and activism; Tom Bowden, a blues man who performed on Seventh Street as a child 70 years ago; Queen Thurston, whose family moved to West Oakland in 1942; Leo Bazille who served on the Oakland City Council from 1983 to 1993; Herman Brown, still organizing in the community today; Greg Bridges, whose family’s home was picked up and moved in the construction process; Martha Carpenter Peterson, who has a vivid memory of better times in West Oakland; Sharon Graves, who experienced both the challenges and the triumphs of the neighborhood; Lionel Wilson, Jr., whose family were anchors of pre-freeway North Oakland; Dorothy Lazard, a resident of 13th Street in the ’60s and font of historical knowledge; Bishop Henry Williams, whose simple request is to “tell the truth,” James Moree, affectionately known as “Jimmy”; the Flippin twins, still anchored in the community; and Maxine Ussery, whose father was a business and land owner before redlining.

EVOAK! will continue to capture these stories and invites the public to share theirs as well.

Beyond the Block Party

The 980 Block Party is just the beginning. Beyond this one-day event, EVOAK! Is building a long-term process to ensure West Oakland’s future is shaped by those who lived its past. To succeed, EVOAK! Is seeking partners across the community—residents, neighborhood associations, faith groups, and organizations—to help connect with legacy residents and host conversations.

980 Block Party Event Details
Saturday, Oct. 25
10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Preservation Park, 1233 Preservation Park Way, Oakland, CA 94612
980BlockParty.org
info@evoak.org