Cal Culture

Annie Virginia Stephens Coker ’24, J.D. ’29: California’s First African American Woman Attorney

Meet the remarkable alum who became not only the first Black woman to graduate from Berkeley Law, but also the first Black female attorney in California.

Pioneering Black Alumni

From state office to silver screen, here are a few of the Black UC Berkeley alumni who have broken barriers along the way to great heights.

Remembering Shirley Conner ’48, Cal Alumni Association President 1981–1983

We are saddened to announce that Shirley Conner ’48, a changemaker and leader in the Cal community, passed away on October 4, 2019. Conner’s loss is felt deeply by all those who were lucky enough to cross paths with her, as she touched the lives of countless Golden Bears throughout her service to UC Berkeley. […]

LGBTQ+ Living History at Berkeley

In a six-part series, we highlight a few of the moments, movements, and people that made their mark on Cal’s LGBTQ+ history. We move through the decades, beginning in an era of secrecy and continuing through today. The Early Years For much of the 20th century, many people felt they couldn’t admit they were anything […]

Celebrating Our LGBTQ+ Community at the Oakland Pride Parade

On Sunday, September 8, 2019, more than 500 Cal alumni, faculty, students, and friends joined together at the annual Oakland LGBTQ+ Pride Parade and Festival. For the third year in a row, the Cal Alumni Association (CAA) partnered with UC Berkeley’s Gender Equity Resource Center (GenEq) to lead the Cal contingent of marchers and host […]

LGBTQ+ Living History: Gender Studies at UC Berkeley

LGBTQ studies as an academic field found early roots in the 1930s. The development of queer theory, however, found momentum several decades later in the 1970s.

LGBTQ+ Living History: The Turbulent ’50s

In a six-part series, we highlight a few of the moments, movements, and people that made their mark on Cal’s LGBTQ+ history. We move through the decades, beginning in an era of secrecy and continuing through today. The turbulent ’50s and ’60s In the 1950s and most of the 1960s, few organizations existed for LGBT […]

LGBTQ+ Living History: Coming Together in the 1980s

In a six-part series, we highlight a few of the moments, movements, and people that made their mark on Cal’s LGBTQ+ history. We move through the decades, beginning in an era of secrecy and continuing through today. Coming together in the 1980s Just as the gay community was enjoying less discrimination and harassment, more peer […]

LGBTQ+ Living History: The Early Years

Members of the LGBTQ+ community have been part of UC Berkeley’s campus community since its inception, but their physical and social environment has changed dramatically. No longer do they have to live in isolation. No longer do they have to risk getting arrested for being who they are. Today, Cal students have a more welcoming […]

LGBTQ+ Living History: Toward Equality

In a six-part series, we highlight a few of the moments, movements, and people that made their mark on Cal’s LGBTQ+ history. We move through the decades, beginning in an era of secrecy and continuing through today. The move toward gender equality When Billy Curtis arrived at Cal in 1999 as the first full-time LGBTQ […]

LGBTQ+ Living History: The Transformative ’60s and ’70s

In a six-part series, we highlight a few of the moments, movements, and people that made their mark on Cal’s LGBTQ+ history. We move through the decades, beginning in an era of secrecy and continuing through today. The transformative ’60s and ’70s The gay rights movement saw some forward motion in the 1960s. Dr. John […]

Remembering Dan Cheatham ’58

Norden H. (Dan) Cheatham ’58 (1936 – 2019) "Remember who you are and what you represent." That's what Dan Cheatham told new Cal Band members during the Silent Walk, an initiation held the day after the first home game, where Cal Band newcomers receive a guided tour of important UC Berkeley campus landmarks.