Sidney and Irene Dearing Memorial Project

In 1924, Sidney and Irene Dearing purchased a home in Piedmont and were subjected to a campaign of harassment, threats, and violence. They were ultimately forced to sell their home.

Their story was buried for nearly a century. We believe it must never be forgotten again.

In 2020, Piedmont’s City Council committed to reckoning with our city’s past as part of a broader journey toward inclusion and equity. A permanent public memorial to Sidney and Irene Dearing near the home where they once lived — designed by internationally renowned artist Walter Hood — is one step on that path.

Support the Dearing Memorial project

The Dearing Portal is more than a sculpture. It’s a statement of who we are today — and who we strive to become. It invites us to reflect honestly, remember with purpose, and commit to building a future rooted in justice and belonging.

Join us:

• Add your name to our growing list of community supporters. Every signature helps show that the Piedmont community is ready to face its history with courage — and move forward together.
• Make a donation to the Piedmont Beautification Foundation's Dearing Memorial fund. Every dollar raised will help bring this project to life and offset expenses from the City's capital project fund.

Project Detail

Location: Triangle Park, at the intersection of Magnolia and Wildwood Avenues.

Status: In design

Background

Sidney and Irene Dearing were Piedmont’s first black homeowners. After purchasing a house in Piedmont through an intermediary in 1924, they were subjected to a campaign of harassment, threats, and violence, including multiple bombs placed at their property. They were ultimately forced to sell their home.

The City’s work to recognize and memorialize the Dearing family’s experience in Piedmont and the City government’s role in their forcible expulsion formally began in May 2022, when the City Council directed the Park Commission to develop recommendations for a physical memorial to the Dearing family to be constructed in Triangle Park.

Over the next year, a subcommittee of the Park Commission engaged in a series of facilitated conversations with descendants of Sidney and Irene Dearing, as well as community stakeholders. This work grew into a set of guiding principles, including a request from the family that the memorial should not be limited to the injustice Sidney and Irene Dearing experienced in Piedmont, but also reflect their lives and accomplishments outside of and in spite of this tragedy.

Design Process

The City has engaged Oakland-based landscape architect Walter Hood (Hood Design Studio) to develop conceptual designs for the memorial.

Hood and his team are working with Dearing family and a Technical Advisory Committee composed primarily of City staff to develop the conceptual design.

Construction

The City hopes to complete construction of the memorial in summer 2026.

Updates

• 10/24/2023: The City has engaged Oakland-based Hood Design Studio to develop conceptual designs for the memorial for Sidney & Irene Dearing in Triangle Park.

Documents

• City Council staff report: Update on efforts to memorialize the Sidney and Irene Dearing Family at Triangle Park (April 3, 2023)
• City Council staff report: Consideration of naming the City’s Triangle Park as “Dearing Family Memorial Park” (May 16, 2022)

Video

• Design phase kickoff: Walter Hood: Landscape /Meaning / Representation | Recovering Voices… Presentation by project designer Walter Hood, Hood Design Studio (November 7, 2023)
• City Council: Update on efforts to memorialize the Sidney and Irene Dearing Family at Triangle Park (April 3, 2023)
• City Council: Consideration of naming the City’s Triangle Park as “Dearing Family Memorial Park” (May 16, 2022)

Contact

Rosanna Bayon Moore, City Administrator, [email protected]