Diversity Talk: The Black Gold Rush

Talk Description

Between 1850 and 1860 alone, over 4,000 blacks settled in California. Many of those new arrivals chose San Francisco and Sacramento, creating the first English-speaking, black urban communities in the far West. We’ll examine the story of those settlers, and the ensuing vast migration that continued throughout the 20th century.

Speaker

Darcel Harris Lee is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Cal Events, Inc., a California Regional Destination Management Company and Tour Operator. She has served as the CEO of California Black Health Network, where she led CBHN to become the voice on issues of African American health. Darcel Lee has more than thirty years of leadership experience, where she has served as the Director of Ken Blanchard Companies Speakers Bureau.

As an avid history buff, esteemed storyteller, and tour director, Darcel is a graduate of the International Tour Management Institute (ITMI) and is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Sacramento Historical Society and a tour consultant to Visit Sacramento.

A community activist and health advocate, Harris Lee serves on the Board of the International Black Women’s Public Policy Institute, which focuses on the empowerment of African American women and girls.