Redevelopment and The Future of the African American Community

By Rodney Hampton, Jr.

Community Development or Displacement: how do we take charge of our destiny?

The Western Addition. The Fillmore. The 3rd Street Light Rail project. The history is undeniable. You cannot question it + you just can't. It's a history that says we don't care. It's a history that says we will do whatever we want to do. A history that says it's okay if we knock your homes down, break up your families, starve your businesses and shatter your lives. Those are the facts. We all know that in the early 1960's entire neighborhoods in the Western Addition and the Fillmore were laid to waste by the bulldozers of the San Francisco Redevelopment Authority. That the phrase "urban renewal" was really just another way of saying "urban removal."

The Past Revisited

That was then...this is now? The Third Street Light Rail project shows us that some things still haven't changed. Why? Because the African American community had to sit by and watch a $600 million light rail project that runs right through the heart of the Black community lock out black contractors, truckers, skilled trades workers and trainees. MUNI blatantly refused to enforce compliance with the hiring goals of 50 percent resident, 25.6 percent minority and 6.9 percent women. MUNI's only nod to protests and marches were a few temporary flagging + crossing guard + jobs. You get it yet?

The Future

The only way the Bayview Redevelopment Plan project moves forward is if we are driving this project. That's right, if the community gets to run the show we will let it flow. Bayview isn't "anti-development." Bayview isn't "anti-growth" and job training. We know there is a positive side to developing a community. How do we know? It's what we've been doing for decades in our fight for social equality and economic justice. The Bayview Redevelopment plan as it stands now is a proposal to place about 1,300 acres -- more than half of the Bayview -- under the jurisdiction of the San Francisco Redevelopment Authority. The plan would create the largest redevelopment district in San Francisco history. The agency promises to clean up blight, build affordable housing and stimulate business with the help of property tax dollars. Looks good on paper. Looks good printed on the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle. When you look at who would benefit, it's obvious it's a private developer-driven project. We want, need and must stand only for a community-driven plan. A plan in which community benefit is the top priority for every phase of the project. People, not profit. When we take control of this project and make it come to life, we'll have nobody to thank but ourselves.