One of the most important locations where significant discussions took place throughout the African Americans civil rights movement were at local churches. This includes San Diego’s Youth Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) that established a community center to provide housing, employment opportunities and recreation resources for African American women in San Diego between the 1920s and 1950s. The YWCA made history in San Diego, challenging systematic black oppression through the concept of unity. With the help of pivotal leaders that pushed for a fight in the collective conscious, and through collective activism and inaugurating total integration, African Americans were able to use the community space to empower black  women. Their determination to battle local discrimination and educate black youth about racial pride helped establish San Diego’s African American community roots. Although there was an absence of de jure segregation in San Diego (segregation upheld by law), African Americans still encountered plenty of institutional racism and restricted opportunities. This regularly consisted of excluding the admission of African Americans to public places, such as restaurants or theatres, and the refusal of employment based on race.  

Appointing reliable leaders was one of the key approaches used to drive the black civil rights movement forward in the fight against oppression. The YWCA appointed passionate, strong leaders like Dorothy Height, who spent their lives dedicated to the cause against poverty, racism and sexism. She organized several dozens of projects that ranged from leading fair wage battles in the 1930s, organizing voter registration drives in the 1960s, and initiating nationwide black family reunions in the 1980s and 90s. One of the main goals of the leaders of the YWCA community were to help build a community center that would be able to serve multiple purposes. This partly because the women of the YWCA recognized that the African Americans living in San Diego lacked essential community resources such as social services, community meeting places, housing options, and job/networking opportunities. As Dorothy Height has written, “Negro Americans gained ground through the kind of self-help that had characterized our struggles since slavery- by creating our own organizations to meet our needs” (2). This embodies the whole argument that African Americans had to work, fight and dig themselves out of their oppression all on their own, exemplifying the severity of the struggle and challenges African Americans faced, and are still dealing with.

Another practice that was used to advance black civil rights in San Diego was through collective activism, which can be described as consistent and communal efforts to promote some type of reform in society. During the 1920s, this was especially powered by the growing black middle class. African Americans began to forge social networks and collectively organized to combat the restrictions and limitations that were put on housing opportunities for black folks. The YWCA also worked with other organizations such as the NAACP (National Advancement of Colored People) to create a united front against local discriminatory policies. There were many successful attempts in disrupting stores, theaters and restaurants that held up signs barring African Americans access to these public facilities. Together, these organizations were also able to convince the Children’s Welfare Home to accept black homeless people and abandoned youth (3). Another collective goal by these organizations was to create recreational outlets for African American youth. Especially important in protecting young black Americans from being pushed or influenced to work in the streets, recreation is essential to keep growing children and young adults on the right path to a healthier, happier and safer lifestyle.

Similarly there was also a collective push in afterschool activities for African American youth. As a result of their efforts, during the summer months the city of San Diego used Memorial Junior High School as a site for community theatre, dance and athletics. They also worked towards converting empty parking lots into playgrounds, and developed “community leisure time centers” in local schools. Various members from a few organizations also came together to create the Young People’s Community Center for black youth, which facilitated as a social and civic center for art expositions, entertainment uses, and guest speakers (3).

Finally, as I mentioned the YWCA challenged systematic black oppression in San Diego through the concept of unity. The commitment to inaugurate integration began around the 1970s when the YWCA adopted an Interracial Charter. As Dorothy Height mentions in her interview, the YWCA went to a few conventions during this time to discuss the full integration of people. There they stated, “The YWCA wants to thrust our collective power towards the elimination of racism wherever it exists, by any means necessary…given our purpose, we cannot tolerate talking about segregation in a society and tolerate it within our own membership” . This intertwines with another very similar goal of the YWCA to develop a better sense of unity among races. This concept holds the idea that through working with and supporting other racial organizations that are fighting for similar rights, it will help to abolish racial prejudice. Connected with the notion of integration, social acceptance regarding the unification of various races would eliminate differential access to public/social services, allow Blacks to take part in working for government services, and give the ability for multiple racial groups to share classrooms and sit side by side in public settings, such as restaurants and theaters (3). Unity among races would also help develop a better sense of racial pride and appreciation for cultural accomplishments, such as Black art.

In conclusion, San Diego’s Youth Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) made history fighting against systematic black oppression. Pivotal leaders helped through the concept of unity; pushing for a fight in the change of collective conscious. Through collective activism and inaugurating total integration, African Americans were able to use their community space to empower black women. As a result of their determination to battle local discrimination and educate black youth about racial pride, the YWCA helped establish San Diego’s African American community roots.

(San Deigo YWCA 1926, Hill Street)