SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A new exhibit at the San Diego African American Museum of Fine Arts is bringing to light the forgotten histories of Black communities that were displaced or erased throughout San Diego County's past.
The "Lost Neighborhoods" exhibit, opening September 25 at the San Diego History Center in Balboa Park, features black and white photographs documenting people, places and stories that have been overlooked in local history books.
"I like to think of this as resilience," said Gaidi Finnie, executive director of the San Diego African American Museum.
The exhibit covers walls with images spanning more than a century of Black history in San Diego, from the county's earliest Black residents to more recent displacement efforts.
"It's not like we survived these things, but we don't want to forget them," Finnie said.
Among the stories featured are Julian's first Black residents, including Fred Coleman and the Robinson family in the 1800s, and the Gas Lamp Quarter, once referred to as the "Harlem of the West" where famous musicians performed in the 1920s.
The exhibit also documents the Southcrest neighborhood residents' fight against Highway 252 construction in the 1970s, which would divide their community, and La Jolla's discriminatory real estate practices that continued even after the Fair Housing Act passed in 1968.
"Now, when you say lost neighborhoods, it's more encompassing than what you would think," Finnie said.
Throughout the display, the museum shows copies of racist language written into property deeds, including clauses stating that properties could not be "sold, conveyed, rented, or leased to, used or occupied by, or be permitted to use for or occupied by any person not of the white or Caucasian race."
When examining this history, Finnie sees a clear pattern of displacement.
"It's not written that way, but on its face, that's what, that's the result that it did have an effect on black people and people and brown people," Finnie said.
A centerpiece of the exhibit features the original Martin Luther King Street sign before it was taken down and replaced with Market Street again.
"This is the Martin Luther King sign being taken down and being replaced by Market Street again," Finnie said.
The project has been years in the making, developed with help from community members, UC San Diego students, and local newspapers.
"It was very difficult, but we're so happy with what we have now," Finnie said.
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