Tract housing flourished after World War II. Veterans flocked to the area because homes cost less than $10,000 - the limit for GI Bill loans. European refugees also arrived. The late 1940s saw a boom in construction and growth. East Palo Alto's population swelled to 7,000 by 1950 and more than doubled within the next decade.
Block-busting
With the 1950s came a phenomenon that has shaped the course of East Palo
Alto ever since - a practice commonly referred to as "block-busting."
At that time, discrimination and restrictions barred people of color from buying homes in many areas. Area committees, aiming to break segregation barriers, frequently helped African American families purchase homes by using a white "front" person. East Palo Alto was a focus area because prices were lower and residents were more tolerant than in other cities.
But not everyone involved in desegregation had unselfish motives. A 1963 article in the Menlo Park Recorder describes block-busting as an aggressive, targeted real estate promotion which typically began after a black family moved into a white neighborhood. Real estate agents - either initiating the original sale or merely taking advantage of it - went door to door and convinced residents their property would be devalued by thousands of dollars if they didn't sell immediately. Agents responsible for relocating African Americans displaced by redevelopment in San Francisco offered free bus rides to East Palo Alto. The maneuver had the dual purpose of attracting new buyers and alarming potential sellers.
Agents often arranged for a Caucasian "proxy" to buy homes cheaply from panicky sellers, then quickly resold the houses to African Americans at a much higher price. The threatened drop in prices never occurred.
Belle Haven was one of the early targets of block-busting. A special census taken in 1956 showed more than 500 "non-white" families in the area - about 50 percent of the population. The tactic continued, section by section, into the more established areas of the community for about 10 years.
From the late 1960s to the early 1980s East Palo Alto's population remained relatively stable at 18,000. But the percentage of African Americans grew from 25 percent in 1960 to 60 percent in the '70s and '80s, according to census data. Even more significant, in 1969 the area east of Bayshore was 74 percent African American, while the west side was 91 percent white. The almost-exclusively white community of the early '50s dropped to a third of the population in 1969, then decreased to its present level of 12 percent.
Annexation
(Editor's note: East Palo Alto had no official
boundaries until it incorporated in 1983. There is sharp disagreement over
what "belonged" to East Palo Alto prior to that time. This narrative
uses boundaries described in Werner Foss Jr.'s History of Ravenswood, written
in 1942 when all the areas in question were part of unincorporated San Mateo
County. See map.)
From the late 1940s to the early 1960s, neighboring cities expanded their boundaries through annexation. Heavy incursions were made into what traditionally had been considered East Palo Alto territory. There was little the town could do to prevent it - the areas were governed by San Mateo County, East Palo Alto was not incorporated and therefore unable to annex them itself, and annexation proceedings were typically initiated by the land owners.
Menlo Park annexed several areas: Belle Haven, Newbridge Park, Menalto Park, North Palo Alto, and part of Runnymede, as well as Cooley's Landing, vast tracts of bay-front open space and two industrial parks.
During the same period, San Francisquito Creek was diverted - officially for flood control reasons, although many contend it was done to facilitate annexation. The land between the old and new creek beds (see map) was part of San Mateo County and unincorporated East Palo Alto, but was owned by the City of Palo Alto. In 1963 the state changed the county border to follow the new creek route. The area - where a golf course, airport and nature preserve are located - became part of Palo Alto and Santa Clara County.
There were also failed attempts in 1966, '78 and '81 to annex all or portions of East Palo Alto into Menlo Park and Palo Alto.
By the time East Palo Alto incorporated in 1983, the only land left was predominantly residential. A limited business tax base crippled the city's ability to become self-sufficient.
Education
East Palo Alto children were part of the Redwood City School District until
the Ravenswood School District was formed in 1892. With the rapid growth
of Week's Poultry Colony, local students quickly outgrew the one-room school
they attended in present-day Menlo Park. In 1918 Weeks donated four acres
for a new school - the site on Euclid Avenue where the district's administrative
offices are today.
The school, which was expanded in the 1920s and '30s, also served as a center for meetings, fairs and social and cultural events. The older section was declared structurally unsafe in 1935, and the children were transferred to other schools. Newer portions continued to be used for administration and later served as a temporary home for the Senior Center. It was partially demolished in the mid-1950s, but some sections still stand.
Nearly 650 students attended Ravenswood High School when it opened in 1958 (see map). Originally its pupils were predominantly white, but by 1969 87 percent of the student body was African American. Voluntary busing two years later brought an almost equal racial balance to the school, which closed in 1975.
In 1966 Gertrude Wilks launched an "alternative approach" designed to improve educational opportunities for East Palo Alto children. Some 75 students participated in the so-called "sneakout," staying with families in Palo Alto and Los Altos four days a week in order to attend local schools. This prompted other families to accomplish the same ends by using false addresses to enroll their children. Illegal at the time, inter-district transfers later became a legitimate option.
Other African-Americans dissatisfied with mainstream education turned to alternative schools that focused on black pride, identity and achievement. The first was the EPA Day School, founded in 1966 by Wilks and Mothers for Equal Education. It began teaching Saturday classes in a local church. Enrollment jumped to 300 its second year, and classes expanded to Wednesday evenings.
After the assassination
of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the school evolved into Nairobi High School
and Nairobi Elementary School. It taught 500 students five days a week in
two buildings on Runnymede Street. The schools endured until the 1980s,
despite threats, bomb scares and the fact that both buildings fell victim
to suspected arson and Wilks' own home was torched.
Nairobi College was established by Bob Hoover in 1969 "to meet the needs of people of color." The two-year private school began with 120 students, and grew to 200 by 1971. In 1970 it opened a second campus in Redwood City. Called Venceremos (We Shall Overcome), it was intended to serve primarily Hispanic students. It had a student body of 200 when it split from Nairobi a year later, then closed in 1974. Nairobi College ceased teaching in 1981.
A latter-day Afro-centric school, Shule Mandela Academy, opened in 1981 and still operates today.
Religion
Throughout history churches have played a pivotal role in community development,
and East Palo Alto is no exception. St. John's Baptist Church was established
in 1955 by the Rev. James and Onedia Branch. St. John's and the more-established
Catholic and Community churches were important places to worship, socialize,
exchange information and develop a sense of community. There are thought
to be some 50 churches of numerous faiths performing the same functions
in East Palo Alto today.
Photo courtesy of Palo Alto Historical Association