Header image is a Bryon Rumford mural at Sacramento and Ashby in Berkeley, created by Zach Franklin, Seth Martinez, Sofia Zander, and community members.

Black History Month is a good time to lift up the roles that African Americans have played in building our public transit systems and advocating for fair housing regulations. Here are just a few of the Black trailblazers who broke barriers and worked tirelessly for a more just, equitable, and liveable Bay Area.

Mary Ellen Pleasant (1814-1904) was one of the most powerful Black women in Gold Rush-era San Francisco, and she used her wealth to fight discrimination in San Francisco’s transportation system. Accounts differ on where she was born and whether or not she was enslaved; however, by the 1820s, she was in New England, working at a busy shop and helping fellow Black Americans to freedom along the Underground Railroad.

Thomas Fleming (1907-2006) worked as an editor, reporter, and columnist for the Black press in San Francisco for 61 years, starting in 1941. As a journalist and editor at the Sun-Reporter, Fleming documented transportation inequities and consistently advocated for improved public transportation access in predominantly Black neighborhoods.

Cecil Poole (1914-1997) was the first African-American U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California and the first appointed to the federal bench in the same district. Judge Poole ruled on significant housing discrimination cases in a career marked by being the first African American at virtually every level of state and federal legal office in Northern California. 

Byron Rumford (1908-1986) was the first Black person elected to state office when he won a seat representing Berkeley in the California Assembly in 1948. During his long tenure in public service, he advocated for improved public transportation access in Berkeley and Oakland. He passed the Rumford Fair Housing Act of 1963, outlawing housing discrimination in California, despite fierce opposition. 

Maudelle Shirek (1911-2013) was an eight-term city council member in Berkeley and also served as vice mayor. Shirek advocated for rent control, senior housing, and robust public services — including accessible public transit — particularly for low-income elders. When she left office at age 92 in 2004, she was the oldest publicly elected official in California. A San Francisco Chronicle article referred to Shirek as “the godmother of East Bay progressive politics.”

Lois Cooper (1931-2014) was the first female engineer to work for the engineering division of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), known during her time as the California Division of Highways. She became a trailblazer for many women and African Americans in this critical transportation field.

Maya Angelou (1928-2014) worked in a variety of jobs before she became a celebrated poet and author, including a career as a singer, dancer, and songwriter. But, before any of these accomplishments, her first love was working as a streetcar operator in San Francisco, a job she started at age 16. Angelou was the first African-American streetcar operator in San Francisco in 1943, operating the 7-Haight line. She received a lifetime achievement award from the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials in 2014.