The demographics of San Leandro have changed dramatically in the last few years.  According to the 2011 census, just 27% of San Leandrans identify themselves as white, down from 51% in 2000.  In 1970, however, a full 97% of San Leandrans were white.  Africans American today make up almost 12% of the population; in 1970 they were 0.1%.  Those numbers were not happenstance, rather, they were the result of very specific and very successful policies of racial discrimination that kept non-whites, and in particular blacks, from moving into the city.   Originally, non-whites were kept out of town by restrictive covenants.  [Continue Reading]