Sanborn Park (Josie de la Cruz Park)

Sanborn Park, as it was known in the 1960s and 1970s, became a local gathering point for political activism against the Vietnam War draft. However, during the 1980s, the park became home to gangs and drug dealers as the influx of crack cocaine into Oakland led to a rise in violent crime. The city revitalized the park in the 1990s, adding the Carmen Flores Recreation Center, a new basketball court and soccer field. Oakland renamed the park after Josephine (Josie) de la Cruz, a prominent local activist who moved to Fruitvale during the 1950s after construction of the 880 freeway displaced huge numbers of people from West Oakland. Josie graduated from University High School on Grove Street and worked at the Latin American Library (now the César E. Chávez Branch of the Oakland Public Library) as a community aide, organizing programs for Oakland youth and English learners. Meet Josie in this interview from 1995.