Rep. Mike Levin Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Name Oceanside Post Office to Honor Local Trailblazer Charlesetta Reece Allen
Charlesetta Reece Allen
Washington, D.C. – Today, Rep. Mike Levin (CA-49) introduced a bipartisan bill to name the United States Postal Service office located at 517 Seagaze Drive in Oceanside, California, after Charlesetta Reece Allen. Charlesetta opened the first Black-owned storefront and restaurant in Oceanside, was the first President of the North San Diego County Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Branch, and founded the Oceanside Girls Club.
The bill is cosponsored by Members of the full Orange County and San Diego County Congressional delegations: Reps. Linda Sánchez (CA-38), Young Kim (CA-40), Michelle Steel (CA-45), Lou Correa (CA-46), Katie Porter (CA-47), Darrell Issa (CA-48), Scott Peters (CA-50), Sara Jacobs (CA-51), and Juan Vargas (CA-52).
Rep. Levin has also received support for the bill from Oceanside Mayor Esther Sanchez, the full bipartisan Oceanside City Council, San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond, and the current President of the North San Diego County NAACP, Satia Austin.
“Charlesetta Reece Allen was a trailblazer for the Black community in Oceanside and her contributions improved the lives of residents of North County,” said Rep. Levin. “We are beginning the process of naming this post office to highlight Mrs. Allen’s service to Oceanside and hope that it will provide inspiration to residents for decades to come. Naming this postal facility is the least we can do to honor someone who did so much for Oceanside.”
“I am very excited that Rep. Mike Levin supports naming the historic Seagaze post office in downtown Oceanside after local pioneer and NAACP community activist Charlesetta Reece Allen. Just like Dorothy Height, Charlesetta strove for equal justice and against disparate treatment. She especially focused her efforts on Marines stationed at Camp Pendleton. Charlesetta had deep ties to Oceanside and continues to be honored and remembered for her contributions to our community. She is an excellent choice for this honor,” said Oceanside Mayor Esther Sanchez.
"Ms. Allen, like Dorothy Height, used herself to work for justice and freedom. This is especially true for the Marines stationed at Camp Pendleton she fed and cared for. Her desire to eliminate injustice led her to becoming the first NAACP president for North County San Diego. As the current President of the NAACP for North County San Diego, I fully support naming the historic Oceanside post office after pioneer, activist, and community leader, Charlesetta Reece Allen," said President of the North San Diego County NAACP, Satia Austin.
ABOUT CHARLESETTA REECE ALLEN
Charlesetta Reece Allen was born in Texas in 1913 to Thomas and Stella Reece and was the oldest of eight children. She came to Oceanside, California, in the 1930s, where she met and married local resident John Callen Mann. They eventually moved to the eastside neighborhood, or “Eastside,” in Oceanside, and she is believed to be just the third Black woman to live in Oceanside. Charlesetta established the Church of God and Christ in 1941 with her sister and served as the minister of the church.
Charlesetta worked as a cook in the Casa Blanca restaurant in downtown Oceanside before she began to cater food out of her home and eventually opened her own restaurant, the first Black-owned storefront in Oceanside. Her restaurant was a popular social gathering spot for Black residents who started to arrive during and after World War II. After her husband John’s death, she later married Reverend Wesley H. Allen who was a pastor of a church in Eastside.
In 1965, Charlesetta was installed as the first President of the North County National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for Branch #1086. She also founded the Oceanside Girls Club where she served as Director. Charlesetta was awarded the San Diego Sojourner Truth Award in 1969.
Charlesetta passed away on September 28, 1983. Although she never had kids, she is survived by many nieces and nephews, some of whom still reside in Oceanside.
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