City Confronts Its Own Racist Past In Marin County During Black History Month

MILL VALLEY, CA — The Mill Valley City Council formally proclaimed February 2026 as Black History Month and used the occasion to publicly acknowledge the city’s history of racial exclusion and redlining at Monday’s meeting.

Reading from the proclamation, community members and students from Tamalpais High School’s Black Student Union emphasized that Black history “is, and has always been, American history.”

The proclamation traces the origin of Black History Month to Dr. Carter G. Woodson’s 1926 “Negro History Week,” expanded nationally to Black History Month in 1976.

One section directly addresses Marin’s and Mill Valley’s local history. The proclamation states that in the 1940s, thousands of Black Americans moved to Marin City for wartime shipbuilding jobs, but “redlining and restrictive racial covenants in the deeds of properties prohibited Black workers from owning properties in Marin County, including Mill Valley,” excluding Black residents from desirable neighborhoods, schools, jobs and generational wealth.

Despite those barriers, Marin’s Black residents “forged a vital community whose ongoing contributions and leadership in the county enriches us all,” the proclamation stated.

The document also ties directly to the city’s response to the murder of George Floyd in 2020, noting that Mill Valley adopted a Black Lives Matter resolution and committed to actions to reduce racial disparities both inside government and in the community.

Council members attended a Black History Month flag‑raising ceremony at Tam High earlier in the day, hosted by the school’s Black Student Union.

Mayor Max Perrey read the final section of the proclamation, calling on residents “to honor the too often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor, throughout the history of the United States and the history of Mill Valley” and “to actively promote the principles of equity, equality, diversity and inclusion for all.”

After the reading, council members and participants gathered for a group photo in the council chambers.