Black History Month: Sylura Barron
In the 1880s, 55 San Diegans marked themselves as Black on the US Census. Segregation, brutality, and the increasing expansion of Jim Crow laws scattered Black Americans across the country seeking relief. This period is known as “The Great Migration.” Most Black Americans moved to the major cities of the northeast, but many still braved the long journey West to California.
Upon arrival, many Black Americans found California to be more inviting than the South, but still faced segregation, inequality, and discrimination. That being said, Black Americans had an easier time establishing churches, businesses, social clubs, and even a statewide annual convention.
By the time of the “Second Great Migration” during the roaring 20s, there were huge social pushes to end segregation. It wasn’t over, but it was a slow and steady change. The Second Great Migration brought thousands of Black Americans to Los Angeles, and by proxy, San Diego. Many Black Mexicans moved to San Diego during this time as well.
This was the landscape Sylura Barron faced when she moved to San Diego in 1924. She and her husband opened a liquor store and immediately became active in the San Diego community. She was president of the Negro Women’s Republican Educational League, was a part-time organist for the Calvary Baptist Church, and was California’s delegate at the Democratic National Convention in 1948.
As a political activist, she had many causes, but she fought the hardest to end gender discrimination, to create equal education opportunities, and to make sure all Black Americans who wanted to start a business, could.