History of Sausalito

The Marinship Shipyards were the site of incidents that provided a key early milestone in the Civil rights movement. In 1944 in the case of James v. Marinship the California Supreme Court held that African Americans could not be excluded from jobs based on their race, even if the employer took no discriminatory actions. In the case of Joseph James, on whose behalf the suit was brought, the local Boilermakers Union excluded Blacks from membership and had a "closed shop" contract, forbidding the shipbuilder from employing anyone who was not a member of the union. African American workers could join an auxiliary of the union, which offered access to fewer jobs at lower pay. Future US Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall successfully argued the case, winning a ruling that the union be required to offer equal membership to African Americans. The Court extended the ruling to apply explicitly to all unions and all workers in California.

Postwar Sausalito

Following World War II, a lively waterfront community grew out of the abandoned ship yards. By the late 1960s at least three house boat communities occupied the waterfront along and adjacent to Sausalito's shore. Beginning in the 1970s, an intense struggle erupted between house boat residents and developers. It was dubbed the "House Boat Wars". Forced removals by county authorities and sabotage by some on the waterfront characterized this struggle. This long fight pitted the waterfront against the "Hill People" or the rich on the hill looking down on the water front