"Multiple bombs were left in the vicinity of their home. There were threatening letters, threatening to lynch them, which, I think, is a fact most people wouldn't associate with California," said Leah Aden, senior counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Their story goes like this: due to laws prohibiting Black people from owning property, his white mother-in-law bought the property for $10,000 with Dearing's money, and then transferred it to the family."
"Following complaints and protests against the Dearings, the City of Piedmont tried to buy them out. It offered less than what was paid and then took action to condemn the property, saying it needed to build a road. That road was never built, resulting in a complaint filed two weeks ago by Dearing's descendants."
""This is a wealthy enclave. And the people who were not forced out of Piedmont have been able to enjoy the value of their home. The municipal services that come with living in that community. That high-quality education that comes along with living in that community," Aden said."
Sidney Dearing, a successful Oakland businessman, became the first Black homeowner in Piedmont in January 1924 but was forced out within a year amid mob violence, bombs, and lynching threats. Laws preventing Black property ownership led his white mother-in-law to buy the house with his money and transfer it to the family. After complaints, the city offered a below-value buyout and then condemned the property claiming a road was needed; that road was never built. Descendants filed a complaint alleging unlawful use of eminent domain to remove the Dearings because they were Black, preventing further Black ownership for decades.
Read at ABC7 San Francisco
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