2022 California Admission Day - Reclaiming the Past California Pioneers of African Descent

California Admission Day on September 9 commemorates the day when California was admitted into the Union as the 31st state in 1850, after being ceded to the United States by Mexico after the War (1846-1848.)

California Admission Day is no longer a widely observed in California, which means that businesses, schools, and government offices remain open, and the Sacramento Historical Society used the occasion to ostracize authentic California History to celebrate a renewed effort towards "Manifest Destiny."

Background
On June 10, 1846, at Murphy's Corral along the Cosumnes River, today's Sacramento County, the Bear Flag Revolt began with men enslaved and free of African Descent participating as the United States plans to declare war on Mexico escalated.

President Polk had already sent the Stevenson's Regiments to "Conquer and Colonize" the territory of California in Mexico expanding the reach of American settlers as inhabitants. Californios, with Armed Service members assistance, staged a revolution against the Mexican government and captured Sonoma, declaring the area as the California Republic.

On July 9 of the same year, Lieutenant Revere of the Navy with US Army and Marine support arrived in Sonoma and placed a United States flag in the territory, officially declaring California as a possession of the United States.

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed in February 1848 effectively ended the war between the United States and Mexico.

Having been defeated, Mexico had to cede a vast territory to the United States. The "white male" population in this territory wasn't very big, so Congress took its time to organize the territory under the concept of "Manifest Destiny."

January 1848, gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill in California, starting what became known as the Gold Rush. A huge influx of global immigrants and American settlers, seeking to find some gold increased in population.

With vast amounts of land, wealth and resources it became imperative for Congress to organize the territory and establish local governments and law services.

President Polk's announcement of Gold in California helped facilitate free and enslaved people of African Descent traveling to California, few recall that 1/5th of population in New Spain - California in the 1790 Spanish Census was of African Descent.

Beginning in 1848, the world rushed into California trying to get a slice of the gold wealth, and the population quickly grew and by June 1849, "white male only" Elections and Constitutional Convention were planned.

With the Compromise of 1850, California achieved statehood in just around 2 years of incorporating the vast Alta California territory into the United States and was officially admitted into the State of California into the Union on September 9, 1850.

California Admission Day Celebrations
On this day, some organizations and businesses in California may have special events happening to commemorate the holiday.

Long ago, schools would dedicate a portion of the day to educate students about the admission of California into the United States and organize activities and events to share the adverse impacts to equity and inclusion we are finally addressing today.

Reclaiming the Past: California Pioneers of African Descent along the American River Parkway (1840-1875) remains a very contentious challenge with "popular culture" seeking to discredit, destroy and disparage the salient contributions by people of African Descent at one of America's most endangered historical preservation sites, the Gold Mining Town of Negro Bar, Sacramento County.