THE SUBURBAN WALL Part 4 - The Kindred Spirit
By Brian Copeland

"We have Mexican Americans, we have Spanish Americans, we have Portuguese Americans, we have Indians, we have colored people. There is no such thing as a minority in this town. They're citizens of the town of San Leandro, and if they want to partake of the town, they have the right."

– Unidentified member of the San Leandro Chamber of Commerce interviewed in, "The Suburban Wall" documentary, November 1971.

I have written much in this space about my experiences as an African American child in this city. They are, of course the crux of my stage show "Not a Genuine Black Man". Because of this, I was particularly interested in the portion of "The Suburban Wall" documentary that dealt with the trials of a young black girl who moved into Bay-O-Vista with her family about a year before we came to town. Although young Robin Collins and her family came and left the city before we did, her story brought back some painful memories for me. Here she is interviewed by filmmaker Paul Altmyer.

Q. What was it like in San Leandro for you?
A. It was terrible.
Q. Why?
A. Because when we opened up our door, everybody would call you names.
Q. What did they call you?
A. Nigger, blackie. And sometimes they would call you charcoal and stuff like that.

According to the documentary, the Collins family was the only black family in Bay-O-Vista at the time. Wanting a nice home in an upscale neighborhood for their family was important to them so they stuck it out for as long as they could before giving up and moving back across the border to Oakland.

"We left," Mrs. Collins told the filmmaker, "due to the fact that we were having so many problems with the neighbors, problems with the children to and from school and in school and out of school."

Apparently the final straw for the family was their daughter's forced self imposed isolation. She told Altmeyer about it.

Q. What did you do after school?
A. I would either read or sit down in the house or ride my bike in the backyard.
Q. Did you ever ride your bike anywhere else?
A. Nowhere else but in the backyard.
Q. Why not?
A. Well, I used to ride it in the play yard. Then they would start calling me names and bothering me. So, I just stay in the backyard.

When asked about the problems that Robin faced and other blacks encountered in this city, Craig King, then executive vice president of the San Leandro Chamber of Commerce had this to say.

"It seems to me that blacks are accustomed to their own social and cultural circles in which they move and they like it this way."

"Have you ever heard any black people say this?" Altmeyer asked.

"No," came the hesitant reply.

Back in Oakland, Robin Collins had more adjusting to do.

Q. Are any white kids here?
A. Not too many.
Q. Do you think it's right that all the white people live over in San Leandro and all the black people live over here in Oakland?
A. no
Q. Why not?
A. I don't know.

If you know Robin Collins, have her drop me a line.

READ The Suburban Wall Interlude