Located in West Oakland, this cultural center sits in the heart of the neighborhood that received tens of thousands of Black Southerners during the WWII Great Migration wave. West Oakland's Seventh Street corridor was called the 'Harlem of the West' — a dense strip of blues clubs, barbershops, churches, and union halls that became the foundation of Oakland's Black political culture. The neighborhood also housed the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters local, whose members were among the most politically active Black workers in the country.