Where We Are
The Mayfair Neighborhood
Located in East San Jose, Mayfair is a vibrant and historical neighborhood that has a legacy of community organizing. Residents of Mayfair organize themselves to improve their neighborhood. The neighborhood is both a community of transitions and new beginnings, where immigrant families come to pursue their dreams.
The Collective’s mission is strongly grounded in Mayfair’s long history of community organizing and cultural identity. By coordinating the work of our agencies, the Collective hopes to produce a much greater positive impact on the community than any one organization can do alone.
1770
By 1777, there were between 10,000 and 20,000 Ohlone inhabitants living throughout the San Francisco Bay Area with approximately 50 nations or tribes.
“Muwekma Ohlone Indian Dancers at Mission Jose in Fremont, CA Rezanov.” Muwekma Ohlone Tribe.
EARLY 1950s
The Eastside was a relatively underdeveloped neighborhood with unpaved streets and sidewalks and no playgrounds. Residents of East San Jose pushed city and county officials to pave local streets, build sidewalks, and install outdoor street lights during the 1950s.
Ross, Fred. Stanford Special Collections, Stanford.
1950s
The Mayfair Packing Company was a San Jose-based dried fruit packer founded in 1931. It was located where the current community center stands. The packing house brought many jobs and also our neighborhood’s name.
Del Carlo, Arnold. Female and Male Workers of the San Jose Mayfair Packing Co. at Their Stations. 1945/1955, Sourisseau Academy for State and Local History.
Late 1950s
As a result of World War II, the Bracero Program and Mexican migration, a substantial number of Mexicans and Mexican Americans began to populate Eastside’s Mayfair district in the 1950s. By 1958, Alum Rock Avenue, Jackson Avenue, King Road and Story Road became the informal boundaries of the Mayfair district, an area that would be known by residents as Sal Si Puedes, which translates to “get out if you can.”
Mexicans in San José (Images of America), by Nannette Regua and Arturo Villarreal, Arcadia Publishing SC, 2009.
Late 1950s
San Jose was a pivotal location for crop production. Its varied agricultural production contributed to the label “The Valley of Heart’s Delight” given to Santa Clara Valley. San Jose provided fresh, dried, and canned fruits and vegetables, domestically and internationally.
Arbuckle, Clyde. “1930 Santa Clara County harvest.” San Jose Library.
1960s
The Grail, an international women’s group, came to the Mayfair Community in the 1960s. They conducted workshops, provided a community meeting place (used by César Chávez), and built affordable housing units on the land where Grail Family Service main campus is located today in East San José. Local families provided input to the project and participated in the groundbreaking ceremony.
1965-1970
San Jose families, students, religious leaders and other supporters joined the picket lines to show their support for the boycott of Delano-grown grapes. From 1965 to 1970, grape pickers in Delano began a strike and boycott against grape growers led by San Jose’s own Cesar Chavez and activist Dolores Huerta.
Mexicans in San José (Images of America), by Nannette Regua and Arturo Villarreal, Arcadia Publishing SC, 2009.
Late 1970s
High School students, their families, and supporters marched on Story Road in response to the lack of Mexican American instructors and curriculum addressing Mexican American history and culture at school in the late 1970s.
Mexicans in San José (Images of America), by Nannette Regua and Arturo Villarreal, Arcadia Publishing SC, 2009.
1986
In the 1970s and 1980s, residents and visitors joined to cruise at the intersection of King and Story Road. They were often met with police brutality and harassment against Mexican American youth. Residents and supporters attended a San Jose City Council meeting to propose a list of demands to stop the harassment by the San Jose police force. In 1996, San Jose enacted a ban on cruising. After almost 40 years the cruising ban was uplifted in 2022.
Mexicans in San José (Images of America), by Nannette Regua and Arturo Villarreal, Arcadia Publishing SC, 2009.
1997
SOMOS Mayfair was founded in 1997 (originally as the Mayfair Improvement Initiative) to address chronic crises in Mayfair. In the early years, SOMOS partnered with government, corporate, and nonprofit allies to renovate community infrastructure, catalyze new community investment, and develop new coalitions. Over the years, SOMOS revamped itself to most effectively operate in line with the needs of the community, and opportunities for regional partnerships evolved.
2007-2008
Veggielution was founded by three San José State University students who wanted to build community through food and farming. With the support of the City of San José, Veggielution broke ground in 2008 on a 1/6-acre parcel of land at Emma Prusch Farm Park in East San José.
2007-2011
The Mexican Heritage Plaza was built by the City of San José in 1999 on the site of one of the first grocery store boycotts for farm workers’ rights organized by César Chavez in the 1960s.
In 2007, the City of San José began seeking new uses for La Plaza. A community assessment determined that La Plaza should become a school of arts and culture, and in 2009 a Steering Committee created a business plan to achieve that goal. In 2010, the City unanimously approved the Committee’s recommendation to create the School of Arts and Culture at Mexican Heritage Plaza (SOAC). SOAC was incorporated as a non-profit on July 11, 2011, and was made the permanent operator of the MHP in September 2013.
2012
Amigos de Guadalupe Center for Justice and Empowerment was founded in 2012 with the vision to break the cycle of poverty and empower Latino youth and families in Mayfair. Amigos was founded after a survey taken by Our Lady of Guadalupe Church revealed that families were in need of basic services that others take for granted. Amigos offers transformational support enabling families to find pathways out of poverty to independence.
2017
The Si Se Puede Collective was formed in 2017 composed of Amigos de Guadalupe Center for Justice and Empowerment, Grail Family Services, School of Arts and Culture at Mexican Heritage Plaza, and SOMOS Mayfair. Together, they hoped to produce a much greater positive impact in the community than any one organization could do alone.
2019
In 2019, Veggielution joined the Si Se Puede Collective with their focus on food and environmental equity.
2020-2023
Mayfair was a neighborhood in San Jose most impacted by COVID-19 cases and deaths. Our agencies quickly responded to the needs of the community by providing them with:
- Over 300,000 farm boxes delivered to families
- 53,108 people reached through door knocking and outreach events
- Distribute 51,823 pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE)
- Reached 226,784 residents in our online PROTEGETE Campaign focused on COVID-19 resources
- 25,000 vaccines administered
- 15,000 COVID-19 tests received
- Over $6 million in direct rental assistance to community members
Future
We’re currently exploring alternative housing models and advocating for local policies promoting community ownership and combat displacement. We are getting creative and imagining new spaces for arts, education, local businesses, and more.
Thank you to SOMOS Mayfair, Vecinos Activos, Jóvenes Activos, and Mayfair residents who contributed their dreams and aspirations for this neighborhood concept map.