Home » California » Mill Valley

James W. Loewen (1942-2021)

We mourn the loss of our friend and colleague and remain committed to the work he began.

Mill Valley

California

Basic Information

Type of Place
Suburb
Metro Area
Bay Area
Politics c. 1860?
Unions, Organized Labor?

Sundown Town Status

Sundown Town in the Past?
Probable
Was there an ordinance?
Don't Know
Sign?
Don’t Know
Year of Greatest Interest
Still Sundown?
Probably Not, Although Still Very Few Black People

Census Information

The available census data from 1860 to the present
Total White Black Asian Native Hispanic Other BHshld
1860
1870
1880
1890
1900
1910
1920
1930
1940
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000 13600 12435 135 563 34 472 89
2010
2020

Method of Exclusion

  • Police or Other Official Action
  • Private Bad Behavior

Main Ethnic Group(s)

  • Unknown

Group(s) Excluded

  • Black

Comments

“It wasn’t until a few years ago my father told me,
that we were NOT the first black family to move into
Mill Valley. We were the second. The first was a
family from San Francisco. He left one Sunday to visit
his relatives in the city and when he came back he
found his house burned to the ground. Fire Chief
called it Arson.
“My mother threatened a realtor to sell to us and
we moved into Mill Valley. The neighbors offered to
buy us out but we gained acceptance from the Jewish,
Catholic and Gay Neighbors and the rest fell in line. A
few years later there was a rash of burglaries in the
neighborhood the police told the neighbors to ‘look no
further then [us]’ as we were the only house not
affected. Many of our neighbors did not buy it and told
mom who complained to the sheriff and received an
apology. It was found to be white kids up the street
and we did not get hit as we had nothing to steal.
“Even after that my older brother still couldn’t go
jogging through the neighborhood without someone
calling the police on him.
“My High School was integrated but never got
more then 15% Black, but to the rest of county you
would think we were a world class ghetto, we were
known as the Black school and referred to as the
‘niggers from Tam’… White students were often asked
how could they go there and how many times where
they mugged or raped…
“To this day I do not go to Mill Valley unless I
have to, visit friends and such. I get pulled over by the
police.”
-former African American resident of Mill Valley, 2005