Oakland Tribune

Founded in 1874, the Oakland Tribune grew into one of California's most influential daily newspapers, anchored for decades by the landmark 305-foot Tribune Tower that still stands over downtown Oakland. Under the Knowland family's leadership beginning in 1915, it became one of the state's most powerful editorial voices.

In 1983, the Tribune made history when Robert C. Maynard became the first African American to own a major metropolitan newspaper in the United States — a landmark moment in American journalism. Under his leadership, the Tribune earned a Pulitzer Prize in 1990 for its coverage of the region.

This edition is part of The Living Archive Series, an ongoing archival preservation project dedicated to protecting America's historic press. Using advanced artificial intelligence restoration technology, this landmark publication has been carefully digitized and restored for permanent access by collectors, historians, researchers, and readers who value American journalism heritage.

The Oakland Tribune is now published under Shumake Media Group, carrying its legacy forward into a new chapter.

A must-have for collectors of vintage American newspapers, Bay Area historians, journalism scholars, and archivists of Black press and ownership history in America.

About the Author
Robert S. Shumake, publishing as Ajarn Shaman Shu, has lived two lives in one — the builder and the priest — and his books are where the two meet. He rose from a Ford factory floor to become founding president and CEO of Inheritance Capital Group, a Black Enterprise-ranked private equity firm, served as honorary consul for Botswana and Tanzania, and founded Inheritance Media Group, owner of more than 300 publications produced by an AI-run newsroom. In spirit, each tradition that initiated him gave him a name: Buddhist Ajarn in the Theravada and Vajrayana lines, Oluwo Jolaoso Osainbola in Ifá, and Shri Surya Narayana Swamikal in the Tamil Siddha line. He is the founder of Soul Tribes International Ministries and of Buddha Digital Temple and its universities — Orisha University, Buddha University, and Shiva University. He authored Detroit’s Proposal E, the 2021 ballot initiative that decriminalized entheogenic plants in Detroit, and is the author of more than 140 published books and 86+ DOI-registered academic publications. His philosophy: the Double Bottom Line — make a profit, and make a difference. Robertshumake.biz