Mill Valley Historical Society Review on Race

From the Historical Society president Eric Macris

“I didn’t know Mill Valley had a Black history.” It’s a comment several board members and I have heard from friends and family as the Historical Society prepared this year’s Review. In a small, predominantly white town like Mill Valley, that comment is not surprising, and in fact it is exactly why we chose to focus this year’s magazine on the local history of racial diversity and a decades-long—still ongoing—debate about local equity and inclusion.

The carefully researched articles, life stories, anecdotes, overviews, and fragments of information in this issue form an illuminating but unavoidably incomplete picture limited by available documentation and prior history work. Rather than attempting to present broad-sweeping conclusions and opinions, the magazine instead presents information and evidence to the extent they are available, and focuses on the lives of people of color who came to Mill Valley throughout the 20th century. We hope that our readers, many of whom have lived in Mill Valley for decades, will find it informative to relate the magazine’s substance to their own life experiences.

Some of these articles raise uncomfortable subjects and difficult truths, especially at a time when the national discourse on race relations is under intense scrutiny. Without this magazine, the stories and information herein might not otherwise come to light. We hope that this issue will stir debate, empathy, and understanding, and contribute valuable historical context for local policy makers and the broader community in ongoing efforts to bring about greater justice and equity.

Read the Historical Review here.