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A fund established to compensate victims of the government-orchestrated destruction of Russell City, a predominantly Black town targeted by racist policies in the 1960s, will now be jointly administered by Alameda County and Hayward, officials announced last week.
The Hayward City Council voted unanimously last Tuesday to formalize an agreement with the county to help manage the $1.3 million Russell City Redress Fund.
On Aug. 4, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors also voted unanimously to approve the plan for distributing money to former residents of Russell City.
Founded in 1853, Russell City was razed by county officials using eminent domain to acquire homes and businesses, according to a 2024 report by Hayward’s Russell City Arts Committee.
To justify such a move, the county declared the community blighted and eventually forcibly evicted all 1,700 residents of the multi-racial community and bulldozed the roughly 700 properties within the 200-acre town.
In addition to homes, the demolition targeted 13 businesses and seven churches that formed the backbone of the community, which was built along the waterfront west of Hayward.
The county then allowed a developer to build an industrial park, after which Hayward annexed the area and finally began providing city services after years of official neglect.
The Russell City Redress Fund is an outgrowth of the Russell City Reparative Justice Project, which was started by Hayward in 2022 to find ways to bring a measure of justice to the town’s former residents and their descendants.
The initial focus of the fund will be on aging Russell City residents whose properties were taken during the 1960s, according to a news release sent out Wednesday from city and county officials.
In addition to an agreement on how the payments will be administered, the city and county will oversee a “Redress Fund Working Group” – a committee charged with finalizing the application process, including documentation requirements and payment amounts.
Former Russell City residents, family members and descendants can now call 510-272-6684 or email russellcityredress@acgov.org to get more information and sign up to receive updates.
The Working Group will hold in-person office hours to answer questions and provide Redress Fund application support on various Thursdays at the Downtown Library in Hayward from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and on various Thursdays and Saturdays at the Library’s Weekes Branch, starting this Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
– Story by Kiley Russell, Bay City News Service
