A Cautionary Tale About California’s ‘African Founding Father’ 

memorial plaque of william alexander leidesdorff
Adé Hennis
January 17, 2025

From establishing the California school system to building the Bay Area's first hotel and sea ports, William Leidesdorff is regarded by some as the “African Founding Father of California.” But let’s pull back the curtain to truly understand his story. Unfortunately, it’s not looking too good from where we stand.

Leidesdorff sure loved to put on a show. But his type of entertainment ain’t funny. In 1847, his hotel hosted the first-ever minstrel show on the West Coast. And this isn’t the only shadow cast over his legacy.

One would think that having an enslaved mother, Leidesdorff would be appalled by the horrors of slavery. He wasn’t. He enslaved Indigenous people, accepted them as payment, and played a key role in spreading Indigenous enslavement across the West Coast.

California may shine as the Golden State, but everything that glitters isn't gold when it comes to Leidesdorff’s legacy. The story of this “founding father” should be a cautionary tale to everyone in our diaspora.

Minstrel shows? Enslavement? Those colonial concepts diminish our people and our potential. Our paths to success should be liberatory, one that brightens our legacy instead of clouding it.

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