OAKLAND — Dorothy King, owner of local restaurant favorite Everett & Jones Barbeque and a fierce advocate for homeless residents, died Wednesday after a battle with breast cancer, according to her daughters. She was 69.
One of eight daughters and a son born to the late Dorothy Turner Everett, King helped build the restaurant business her mother started at locations in Oakland, Berkeley, Hayward and Alameda, as well as former locations in Pleasanton and San Francisco.
“She was our everything,” said King’s daughter, Nina Moore.
King was born in Butler, Alabama, and came to West Oakland with her parents and siblings when her father got a job building railroad infrastructure, Moore said. King’s mother opened the first restaurant in 1973 and later expanded it throughout Oakland and the Bay Area.
Under the family’s stewardship, the long-running restaurant was known not only for excellent fare and charitable efforts such as fundraisers but also as a popular gathering place for sporting events and for celebrations of local talents like former “American Idol” contestant LaToya London and of political achievements such as President Barack Obama’s 2008 Democratic nomination for president, his campaign, his election and his inauguration.
Democratic political figures, including President Bill Clinton in 2008 and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2016 made stops at King’s barbecue restaurant.
But King was also a passionate activist and champion for people struggling financially, Moore said.
She left the family restaurant business for a time to move to Denver in the 1980s, where after struggling with homelessness herself, she helped turn an apartment building into a shelter for women facing abuse, Moore said.
“She was focusing on helping others, even though she needed help,” Moore said. “She wanted every poor person, every disadvantaged person to have a home. ‘Having a home is a human right,’ she would tell us.”
In Denver, she started leading women to occupy vacant buildings that had been boarded up by U.S. Housing and Urban Development. She continued her activism after returning to Oakland, pressuring government agencies to turn over buildings for cheap prices to house the homeless. The housing she helped secure, including Dignity Housing West in downtown Oakland, still serve that purpose today.
Even when she was sick in the last few years, Moore said, her mother was passionate about homeless activism, expressing pride for the Moms 4 Housing movement that sought, in the way she had, to secure abandoned buildings to house families who needed shelter.
At Everett & Jones, King continued her care for others, often feeding more than 100 struggling people after the Jack London Square restaurant closed each night.
“‘If they say they’re hungry, you gotta feed them,'” Moore remembered her mother often saying.
King often hired people who had been previously incarcerated or homeless, Moore said. She’d frequently get a hotel room for homeless people, help them clean up and offer them work in the restaurant.
Her family continues to operate the two Oakland restaurants and the Berkeley location.
“Dorothy was a loyal and loving friend, and the institution she built with her family, Everett & Jones BBQ, became a national symbol of the East Bay’s soul and vivacity,” said East Bay Congresswoman Barbara Lee. “I will miss so many things about Dorothy: her passion for this community, her sense of justice, her activism, and the many contributions she made to the East Bay over decades as an entrepreneur and a respected leader.”
Other civic leaders also expressed support for King, whose restaurant is a city fixture.
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf posted, “Dorothy’s powerhouse style + fierce passion for social justice will continue to inspire generations,” adding, “We will miss her dearly and feel gratitude for all that she gave Oakland.”
Grieving + honoring Oakland legend and beloved entrepreneur Dorothy King, founder of @everettjonesbbq. Dorothy's powerhouse style + fierce passion for social justice will continue to inspire generations. We will miss her dearly and feel gratitude for all that she gave Oakland. pic.twitter.com/9zRlNUvlSc
— Libby Schaaf (@LibbySchaaf) March 18, 2021
“Rest in Power Dorothy King,” political organizer, activist and businesswoman Aimee Allison said. “You made Everett and Jones the center of #Oakland’s Black political power. You supported me and a generation with your food and vocal championship. Thank you for everything.”
Rest in Power Dorothy King. You made Everett and Jones the center of #Oakland’s Black political power. You supported me and a generation with your food and vocal championship. Thank you for everything.
(Julie shared this photo of happy times) pic.twitter.com/o7AUSsv3il— Aimee Allison (@aimeeallison) March 18, 2021
Restaurant founder and recent Oakland City Council candidate Derreck Johnson in a tweet called King a “mentor, a friend and a towering figure in Oakland who inspired many Black restaurateur & entrepreneurs like myself.”
“She was a generous spirit who made an indelible impact in our community,” he said. “Rest In peace, Queen.”
I am heartbroken by the news of Dorothy King’s passing. Dorothy was a mentor, a friend and a towering figure in Oakland who inspired many Black restaurateur & entrepreneurs like myself. She was a generous spirit who made an indelible impact in our community. Rest In Peace, Queen. pic.twitter.com/IhyRFkcRRg
— Derreck Johnson (@derreckbjohnson) March 18, 2021
King is survived by her husband, John Jernnigan, four daughters and two sons, as well as her grandchildren, her siblings and many other family members, friends and customers, as well as her beloved Yorkshire Terrier, Saucy.
Memorial services are pending.