Oakland’s influence on the world – from pop culture to social movements - is undeniable. Oakland, California, is the birthplace of the Black Panther Party, actors Tom Hanks and Mark Hamill, Rocky Road Ice Cream and The Mai Tai cocktail.
“Daughter of Oakland” Kamala Harris has served as the first woman, first Black, and first Asian-American Vice President, and is the first woman of color to be a major-party nominee for President of the United States. Visit Oakland to see places that shaped America’s 49th Vice President on this six-stop tour.
Stop 1: Kaiser Oakland Medical Center
W MacArthur Boulevard between Broadway and Howe St
The Permanente Foundation Hospital in Oakland | Photo Credit: Kaiser Permanente
The biracial daughter of immigrant parents, Kamala Harris was born at Kaiser Permanente's flagship health center. The MacArthur Boulevard hospital where Donald Harris, a Stanford University economics professor born in Jamaica, and Shyamala Gopalan, a cancer researcher born in India, brought Kamala into this world, was demolished years ago. A modern medical center now surrounds the fallow lot where hospitals had stood since the 19th century. At the time of Kamala’s birth, the facility was largely a World War II-era structure built to care for the racially-integrated workforce of Henry Kaiser’s shipyards
A block from the hospital complex lies the bustling Piedmont Avenue commercial district, home to the East Bay’s only 2 Michelin-starred restaurant Commis. Close to MacArthur Blvd. you can find the popular, casual doña and Pomella restaurants, taxidermy-themed craft cocktail bar The Lodge, and Colombian fine-dining establishment Mägo. The lively, lengthy street is worth the stroll for its diverse shops, eateries, bars and cafes, including Fenton’s Creamery, famous for inventing the Rocky Road flavor (and for its cameo in Pixar’s Up).
Stop 2: Oakland’s 23rd Avenue Church of God
1940 23rd Ave
Kamala Harris, Maya Harris and Shyamala Gopalan Harris | Photo Credit: Kamala Harris on Facebook
Growing up, Kamala and her family, including younger sister Maya, lived in the neighboring city of Berkeley. Both girls and their mother frequently visited Black Cultural Center The Rainbow Sign. It was here that Kamala was exposed to inspiring women like Shirley Chisholm, Alice Walker, Nina Simone, and Maya Angelou, all “extraordinary people… who showed us what we could become,” she wrote in her 2019 memoir.
Even though Kamala and Maya lived in Berkeley, both young girls spent time in Oakland. Their downstairs neighbor, Regina Shelton, often took Kamala and Maya to the 23rd Avenue Church of God in Oakland, east of Lake Merritt. At this church, the sisters sang in the children’s choir and discovered Social Gospel.
The church is located in a residential area not far from Oakland’s Little Saigon neighborhood, home to local favorite Southeast Asian restaurants including Chai Thai, Champa Garden, and Cam Huong deli.
Stop 3: Alameda County Courthouse
1225 Fallon St
After attending Howard University and UC College of Law San Francisco, Kamala began her career as an Assistant District Attorney for Alameda County - her client, “the People.” Alameda County’s flagship courthouse on Lake Merritt was the backdrop of famous demonstrations in the 1960s and 70s, including by the Oakland-founded Black Panther Party. The handsome WPA Moderne-style edifice is located across the street from popular watering hole Mad Oak and a block from the Oakland Museum of California.
Stop 4: Home of Chicken & Waffles
247 4th Street
Oakland staple Home of Chicken & Waffles was founded by Kamala’s friend since childhood, Derreck Johnson. Every October, in honor of the Vice President’s birthday, the eatery offers a dish named The Kamala. “She loves to cook, she loves soul food and she loves Italian food so we made the dish in her honor. It's lasagne with collard greens and our famous chicken,” said Derreck. Try it alongside a glass from the restaurant’s curated list of wines produced by Black women.
The Home of Chicken and Waffles is a few blocks from Jack London Square. Peerless Coffee & Tea’s facility can also be found nearby, with an on-site coffee and gift shop. Other restaurants in the eastern Jack London District include Nido’s Backyard and Odin Mezcalería. Oakland’s newest park. Township Commons at Brooklyn Basin, is a 25-minute waterfront walk away.
Stop 5: Oakland City Hall
1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza
On January 27, 2019, Kamala Harris formally launched her first presidential campaign at Oakland’s historic City Hall, with more than 20,000 people in attendance. While her campaign would not last the year, it led to Joe Biden selecting her as the first woman, first Black and first Asian-American vice presidential nominee.
Former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf recalled, “I met Kamala nearly 30 years ago when she sought to start a mentoring program for the public school arts magnet in West Oakland. In 2019 she proudly told the world that she was born in Oakland, was pushed in her stroller through protests in Oakland, and, as a young prosecutor, first spoke the words in Oakland that would define her life's work: ‘Kamala Harris for the People.’”
The downtown area near City Hall is filled with history that started over a hundred years ago, when Oakland was a town surrounded by Oak trees. Today, many of the iconic Art Deco structures that stood then blend with modern architecture. The bars and restaurants of Uptown can be found just north of Frank Ogawa Plaza, and Oakland’s vibrant Chinatown is just a few blocks southeast.
Stop 6: Warriors Practice Facility
550 10th St
Vice President Kamala Harris returned to Oakland in 2022 | Photo Credit: Amir Aziz
When the Warriors played in Oakland, their headquarters and practice facility were located above the Oakland Convention Center. Today that space is used for youth basketball camps, youth-serving nonprofit offices, and soon, the practice facility for the WNBA’s Valkyries. In 2022, the facility was the site of a groundbreaking announcement: Vice President Kamala Harris joined Oakland’s mayor and schools superintendent, business and community leaders, and young leaders to announce the Generation Fund, a scholarship that will nurture every Oakland child born into a low-income household for a generation. In her remarks, Kamala said:
“I was born just up the street at Kaiser Oakland. I am a proud Kaiser baby. And I stand before you today as Vice President of the United States. This journey was possible because I, growing up in this community, had the blessing and good fortune of being in a place that believed in investing in the potential of its children... This is that community that is doing that work still today — to lead by example in understanding that the promise of America is only made real when we invest in the capacity and the dreams and the potential of her people. Oakland has always been a model of doing just that work.”
The private practice facility lies at the end of Old Oakland, the city’s original downtown from the First Transcontinental Railroad era; the railroad ran down 7th Street to its terminus at a nearby ferry pier. Old Oakland’s charming cast-iron buildings house popular restaurants like casual Square Pie Guys, stylish Popoca, and refined Delage. Historic deli Ratto’s, bustling food court Swan’s Market (538 9th St), and unique retro-gaming paradise Museum of Art and Digital Entertainment are can’t-miss destinations nearby, as is the Friday farmers’ market.
See all that The Town has to offer! Check out our Digital Inspiration Guide and start planning your trip. Make sure to also check out our hotels page to book your next stay in Oakland!