The nature of the racial climate in California as it came into statehood in 1850 was such that the freedom of slaves and the civil rights of all African Americans was in question and subject to fierce debate. The Gold Rush overlapped this period and diverse numbers of blacks, slave and free, were invariably swept up in the teeming migration that ensued. The politics and practices of the 49ers followed the migration, including those of slave hunters and stations masters of the Underground Railroad. In the course of researching the African Americans who were a part of that era, freedom seeker events are inexorably woven into that history, and discovering those connections becomes a customary part of our work.
Location: PO Box 416, Sonora, California
Contact Person: Sylvia Roberts
Contact Information: (209) 532-0175 (main phone) / blackminer@gmail.com