Seventh Street, West Oakland, California — Welcome to the Black Wall Streets

Welcome to the Black Wall Streets

Seventh Street, West Oakland, California

Close your eyes. Hear the horns. Feel the bass. This is where the West Coast Blues was born.

In the 1940s and early 1950s, Seventh Street became a nationally praised cultural haven for African-Americans. Jazz and blues musicians from across the country descended on this historic West Oakland corridor — performing in clubs and lounges night after night, producing a sound the world would come to call the West Coast Blues.

The historic 13-block stretch is forever tied to cultural giants like poet and author Maya Angelou and legendary club owner and philanthropist Esther Mabry. Mabry's crown jewel, The Orbit Room, hosted the likes of Al Green, B.B. King, Etta James, and Tina Turner — names that still shake the walls.

This piece is more than a shirt. It's a front-row seat to history. Wear the sound.