Hayward seeking out former Russell City residents and descendants as part of restorative justice project

HAYWARD, Calif., June 15, 2022— The City of Hayward is seeking contact information for people who experienced and may have been negatively impacted by the forced relocation of Russell City residents during redevelopment and annexation of the area back in the early 1960s. 

Established in 1853, Russell City was an unincorporated area of Alameda County located near the Hayward shoreline between present day Chabot College and Hayward Executive Airport, and is now part of the City’s burgeoning industrial corridor west of Interstate 880. 

The City is seeking contact information for former Russell City residents and descendants to inform them of and invite their participation in the Russell City Reparative Justice Project, an initiative intended to explore and identify ways to set right harmful outcomes of Russell City’s redevelopment and incorporation into the City of Hayward. 

The Russell City Reparative Justice Project is being undertaken at the urging of the City’s Community Service Commission and direction of the Hayward City Council. It is being carried out in three to four phases of potentially overlapping work—with Phase 1 involving the contacting of former residents and descendants; initial fact-finding and academic research; and formation of a governing structure for the Project team and participants. 

For more information—including a Russell City Reparative Justice Contact Form—visit the Russel City Reparative Justice project page here on the City of Hayward website. For additional information, questions, or concerns, email project manager Daniel Mao at Daniel.Mao@hayward-ca.gov.