In the 1930s pharmacist and civil rights activist Dr. William Byron Rumford (1908-1986) was hired as the first black professional at Oakland’s Highland Hospital. In 1942 he purchased a pharmacy in Berkeley and, after constructing this building, launched Rumford’s Pharmacy here in 1951.

Rumford became the first African-American elected in Northern California to the State legislature in 1948. He authored major civil rights legislative measures including the Fair Employment Practices Act of 1959 and the Rumford Fair Housing Act of 1963. His legislative work paved the way for the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1968.

When not in the legislature Rumford was here, in his pharmacy. It became a key hub for African Americans involved in civic matters, serving as informal headquarters for many emerging black politicians. Rumford retired in 1981. After his death his family agreed this building would become a non-profit community health clinic. In 2016 Rumford’s life and legacy were memorialized with a nearby sculpture.

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