Berkeley has a rare opportunity to name a brand new street spanning two blocks of downtown. Which stories do we want to honor?

We nominate Kala Bagai (1892–1983), one of the first South Asian women in the United States. She immigrated to the U.S. from present-day Pakistan to flee British colonial rule, only to confront and survive intense racism in Berkeley, going on to become an important community-builder.

Kala Bagai is exactly the right person for us to honor:

• As an Asian American woman, an immigrant, and a member of a minority faith, Bagai represents critical parts of our community who have been deeply unrepresented in civic naming. Asian Americans make up 20% of Berkeley, but the city has yet to acknowledge this history.
  

• Bagai was a survivor of local racism and federal anti-immigrant policies. Honoring her is part of our reckoning with a difficult past

• Honoring Bagai reminds us of the importance of welcoming and housing immigrants, and helps us mourn the neighbors we lost when she and those like her were kept out.

Who is Kala Bagai?

• Kala Bagai and her husband immigrated to the U.S. from present-day Pakistan in 1915, where they built a small business. The Bagais bought a home in Berkeley, but were physically blocked from moving in by their neighbors.
  
• Bagai survived local racism only to confront a federal anti-immigrant court ruling stripping all Indians of their citizenship, which led her husband, now a stateless person, to commit suicide out of heartbreak.
  
• And in the face of this, Kala Bagai persisted. She raised children, remarried, and went on to become a critical community-builder for the early Indian American community. Nicknamed “Mother India,” she worked tirelessly to build bridges through arts and community.