The People vs. Big Oil—how a working-class company town harnessed the power of local politics to reclaim their community With a foreword by Bernie Sanders Home to one of the largest oil refineries in the state, Richmond, California, was once a typical company town, dominated by Chevron. This largely nonwhite, working-class city of 100,000 suffered from poverty, pollution, and poorly funded public services. It had one of the highest homicide rates per capita in the country and a jobless rate twice the national average. But when veteran labor reporter Steve Early moved from New England to Richmond in 2012, he discovered a city struggling to remake itself. In Refinery Town, Early chronicles the 15 years of successful community organizing that raised the local minimum wage, defeated a casino development project, challenged home foreclosures and evictions, and sought fair taxation of Big Oil. A short list of Richmond’s activist residents helps to propel this compelling chronicle: • 94 year old Betty Reid Soskin, the country’s oldest full-time national park ranger and witness to Richmond’s complex history • Gayle McLaughlin, the Green Party mayor who challenged Chevron and won • Police Chief Chris Magnus, who brought community policing to Richmond and is now one of America’s leading public safety reformers Part urban history, part call to action, Refinery Town shows how concerned citizens can harness the power of local politics to reclaim their community and make municipal government a source of much-needed policy innovation. “Refinery Town provides an inside look at how one American city has made radical and progressive change seem not only possible but sensible.”—David Helvarg, The Progressive

Historic Richmond Town, established in 1958 by the Staten Island Historical Society and the City of New York, is a 100-acre historic village. With many carefully-restored sites, the area boasts events, tours, and places to visit. The photographs that make up this fascinating visual history bring to life the rich cultural heritage of this unique area. Like layers of antique paint, years peel back, revealing scenes from a time when things seemed simpler. As we turn the pages, we visit the Voorlezer House, St. Andrews Church, the Lighthouse, the home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, and the Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art.