Event highlights Nairobi Movement in East Palo Alto

The Nairobi Movement was a time in East Palo Alto’s history after the population went from being predominantly white to predominately Black in the early 1960s, and politically organized to establish “community control” of all aspects of life, Dr. Frank Omowale Satterwhite, one of the panelists, said.

Set out to build and lead their own institutions and cultural community, Black East Palo Alto residents established the first all-Black school board, a network of Afrocentric schools known as the Nairobi Schools, abundant youth programs and more, Satterwhite said.

Satterwhite moved to East Palo Alto in 1967, and he hasn’t left since. He was a lead organizer to incorporate East Palo Alto and served on the city’s first council. Currently, he is the chair of East Palo Alto Community Archive.

When thinking about what East Palo Alto was like during this culturally vivid era, he described it as “kind of a Wakanda, but without the war machines and technology.” His main point was that “the village was truly raising the children.”

Kids who grew up in East Palo Alto during this movement “participated in this network of activities independent schools, cultural programs, development programs that were in an Afro-centric bubble 24/7.” To Satterwhite, the importance of remembering this history is evidence that culturally responsive communities are possible and viable.

“Cultural communities can create ecosystems where their children and families have a safe space to learn about their culture and feel affirmed in their lived experiences,” Satterwhite said.

In addition to the ability for the community to be self-determined and self-reliant, the Nairobi Movement also highlights its capacity to be self-preserving, Satterwhite said.

The drive of Black residents in the 1960s to build their own systems of support was a response to the exclusion they often experienced in educational and political spaces and the oppression Black Americans faced. To this effect, Satterwhite often is reminded of the Martin Luther King Jr. adage that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

In modern America, Satterwhite said this message reigns true, and there is much to learn from the Nairobi Movement.

“I don’t think we need to be overwhelmed or overcome or immobilized by current politics,” he said. “We have to be conscious and clear but not overwhelmed.”

“Initially, a lot of things one does or might do is reactive or responsive to a circumstance when one is challenged and oppressed,” Satterwhite said. “In the [Nairobi Movement], it was initially reactive, but when the vision kicks in and this becomes a way of life it becomes normative.”

Satterwhite will be speaking alongside slated panelists Vulindlela I. Wobogo and Juanita Croft, fellow board members of the Nairobi East Palo Alto Advocates.

The panel is part of the San Mateo County Historical Association’s Courthouse Docket, a series of presentations and programs showcasing noteworthy and unique facets of the county, Adam Knight, education director for the historical association, said.

“Each event tries to inspire people about how rich and deep the history goes here in the county,” Knight said.

To learn more, the Nairobi Movement panel will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21, in the San Mateo County History Museum. The event is included with museum admission, which costs $6 for adults or $4 for seniors and students.