The histories of people of color are often taught and discussed as side notes. This website centers the experiences of Native Americans, Latin Americans, Asian Americans, and African Americans in Palo Alto and the wider Bay Area. Due to the nature of the evolution of Palo Alto’s history, although Palo Alto is the episcenter to which this research has revolved around, included are the histories of East Palo Alto, the general Santa Clara Valley, and Northern California.

This website is intended to be a compilation of sources, and information to better understand the histories of people of color in Palo Alto. The “Myths” section of the website includes popular historical mythologies such as the myth of Manifest Destiny, and California as a Free State. I have also included popular mythological local stories related to and of people of color in the Bay Area. Debunking historical myths provides a fuller historical context which is necessary when trying to understand the histories of people of color in Palo Alto. The section “Hidden History” examines how the histories of people of color can disappear and/or be easily overlooked in popular accounts of local Palo Alto history. In this section I have included information about the Ramaytush and Muwekma Ohlone whose land the City of Palo Alto now occupies, the foundational history of Anti-Chinese sentiment in Palo Alto, and the lasting effects of housing discrimination and blockbusting which still largely shapes the makeup of Palo Altans today both as residents and students in the Palo Alto Unified School District. The last page, “Resources” contains the books, podcasts, videos, and other sources that provided information for this website.