Editing Piedmont, California (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of Piedmont, California}}
[[File:Peralta Family.jpg|thumb|left|Piedmont and much of the [[East Bay]] was part of [[Rancho San Antonio (Peralta)|Rancho San Antonio]], granted to the [[Luís María Peralta|Peralta family]] in 1820.]]
The original neighborhood of Piedmont was larger than the current [[municipality]] of Piedmont, with the Mountain View Cemetery considered full part of the Piedmont neighborhood.

Residents initially sought incorporation in 1907. Two elections were held among the citizens of Piedmont in 1907, both of which narrowly upheld the decision for Piedmont to become a separate city, rather than become a neighborhood within the city of Oakland.

According to the city's webpage, "In the Roaring Twenties, Piedmont was known as the 'City of Millionaires' because there were more millionaires per square mile than in any city in the United States."<ref>{{cite web |title=History of Piedmont |publisher=City of Piedmont |url=http://www.ci.piedmont.ca.us/history.shtml |access-date=July 6, 2016}}</ref> Many of these millionaires built mansions that still stand, notably on Sea View Avenue and Sotelo Avenue/Glen Alpine Road in 'Alta' Piedmont. Piedmont became a [[charter city]] under the laws of the [[state of California]] on December 18, 1922. On February 27, 1923, voters adopted the charter, which can only be changed by another vote of the people.

Like surrounding Oakland,<ref>{{cite web |title=How segregated in your Oakland neighborhood |url=https://oaklandside.org/2021/06/28/how-segregated-is-your-oakland-neighborhood/ |website=The Oaklandside |access-date=November 11, 2021 |date=June 28, 2021}}</ref> Piedmont has a history of racial segregation, but it also has a separate history of racial exclusion.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ravani |first1=Sarah |title=Piedmont residents wrestle with how to add more housing to exclusive enclave |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/local/article/Piedmont-residents-mostly-wealthy-and-white-16189457.php |website=San Francisco Chronicle |access-date=October 8, 2021 |date=May 20, 2021}}</ref><ref name="kalw.org">{{cite web |title=Why Is There Another City Inside Of Oakland? |url=https://www.kalw.org/show/crosscurrents/2020-03-12/why-is-there-another-city-inside-of-oakland |website=KALW |access-date=October 8, 2021 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Troyer |first1=Aya |last2=Lloyd |first2=Zenobia Pellissier |last3=Lee |first3=Malia |title=A Closer Look: A Path Towards Change – The Piedmont Highlander |url=https://tphnews.com/2020/10/21/a-closer-look-a-path-towards-change/ |access-date=October 8, 2021}}</ref> In 1924, the city's first African-American homeowners, Sidney and Irene Dearing, got around the city's restrictive housing covenants by purchasing a home using a white family member as a [[Proxy voting|proxy]]. They could not count on the city of Piedmont to protect them from violent threats against their lives—the chief of police at the time, Burton Becker, was an active member of the [[Ku Klux Klan]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Phillips |first1=Justin |title=An affluent East Bay city chased out its first Black homeowner a century ago - and still hasn't atoned |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/local/justinphillips/article/An-affluent-East-Bay-city-chased-out-its-first-16242252.php |website=San Francisco Chronicle |access-date=October 8, 2021 |date=June 13, 2021}}</ref> While the Dearings initially refused to leave, bombs were left around their property. The couple sold their property to the city for $25,000 after a mob surrounded their home and demanded that they leave.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bennett |first=Meghan |title=About Sidney Dearing of Piedmont, California |url=https://www.sidneydearing.com/about-sidney |access-date=May 31, 2022 |website=Sidney Dearing |language=en}}</ref>

Before 1968, restrictive housing covenants and [[redlining]] were used to exclude non-whites in the city for many years.<ref>{{cite web |title=Piedmont, California's History of Redlining |url=https://www.sidneydearing.com/piedmont-red-line |website=Sidney Dearing |access-date=October 8, 2021 |language=en}}</ref> The American sociologist and historian [[James W. Loewen]] identified Piedmont as a "probable" [[sundown town]], meaning that non-whites were not welcome after dusk and could face violence and intimidation. While surrounding Oakland is one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse cities in the United States,<ref name="kalw.org"/> Piedmont has a less racially diverse population. Attempts to ethnically and culturally diversify the city and allow for higher density and [[affordable housing]] are typically met with resistance from the city's residents.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ravani |first1=Sarah |title=Piedmont residents wrestle with how to add more housing to exclusive enclave |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/local/article/Piedmont-residents-mostly-wealthy-and-white-16189457.php |website=San Francisco Chronicle |date=May 20, 2021}}</ref>

In early 2021, the city council indicated that it intended "to move forward with public acknowledgement and an apology for the abhorrent treatment Sidney Dearing and his family received in 1924."<ref>{{cite web |title=COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT |url=https://piedmont.ca.gov/common/pages/DisplayFile.aspx?itemId=17423206 |website=City of Piedmont |access-date=October 8, 2021}}</ref>

In August 2017, the mayor of Piedmont, Jeffrey Wieler,<ref name=CC>{{Cite web
|url=http://www.ci.piedmont.ca.us/citycouncil/
 |title=Piedmont City Council
 |access-date=July 7, 2016}}</ref> resigned after making disparaging Facebook posts about [[Black Lives Matter]] and transgender people.<ref>{{Cite news|date=August 27, 2017|title=Piedmont Mayor Resigns After Inflammatory Online Comments|url=https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2017/08/27/piedmont-mayor-resigns-after-inflammatory-online-comments/|access-date=November 15, 2021|work=CBS SF|language=en-US}}</ref>