Tag: Bayview Hunters Point

In response to the escalating community outcry over the falsification of radioactive soil samples and concerns about reports of possible illegal dumping of radioactive soils by the U.S. Navy’s contractor Tetra Tech at the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard Superfund Site in Bayview Hunters Point, San Francisco, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, California Department of Toxic Substances Control and the U.S. Navy have agreed to put on hold any further transfers of Navy property at the Shipyard.

The hub of Hunters Point at Third and Oakdale was buzzing with traffic and throngs of people as they assembled outside of the Bayview Opera House. The Moon Candy soul band was on the stage as people began to sit in the new seats in the outside auditorium. The Opera House had been closed for remodeling for four years. Finally, on July 20, the new Opera House was unveiled to the public.

The air has gotten worse, not better. So these are some of the things that are caused by the dust, the construction and the latent chemicals they have not cleaned up since World War II – plus the current concentration of light industry just outside our neighborhood that all blows into our neighborhood. Yet currently less than 1 percent of African Americans who live in Bayview work in that area and reap the economic benefits. All we get is the pollution and death.

A 20-year vision became reality when Bayview Senior Services invited the people of Bayview Hunters Point to the grand opening of the Dr. George W. Davis Senior Center and Residence on Saturday, June 25. The celebration marked the victory of a dream over despair. As we all gain inspiration from his memory, his wife, Cathy Davis, has captained the project to a successful completion with last Saturday’s unforgettable grand opening.

One minute and 14 seconds into the first round, the professional boxing middleweight fight debut of Raquel “Pretty Beast” Miller and Sara “Mac Tire” Flores was over, and Raquel Miller had scored the win via TKO after the center referee stopped the bout. The fight was part of promoter Michael Bazan and Square Vision Entertainment’s “Night of Glory III – Battle for the Golden State” on a card of nine scheduled bouts, held at the Richmond Memorial Auditorium on May 21, 2016.

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is proposing to relocate the Southeast Community Facility Commission building at 1800 Oakdale Ave., the decades-long home of the Southeast Campus of City College, to the corner of Third Street and Evans Avenue. On April 19, SFPUC hosted a Taco Tuesday for neighborhood residents to view two different proposals, plans for what the new Evans building could look like and another of a remodeled 1800 Oakdale Ave. building.

On March 1, medical services returned to the historic Arthur H. Coleman Medical Center at Third and Ingerson. As a community healthcare clinic, we are honored to reopen a place that is special to this community – and to me, personally. I spent part of my life in Bayview Hunters Point. These new services carry forward the spirit of Dr. Arthur H. Coleman, who campaigned for better service for African American patients.

Although Bayview Hunters Point is one of the most beautiful Black communities in California, it is also one of the most toxic places in the country due to the radiation experiments that took place on the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard in the ‘40s and many other generators of deadly toxins, most of them government owned. Dr. Ray Tompkins, a historian and a scientific expert on the pollution in Bayview Hunters Point, gives an in-depth interview. Check him out in his own words.

The Saint John Coltrane Church is a historical fixture in the San Francisco Black community and a direct descendant of the work of the late great Marcus Mosiah Garvey and his Universal Negro Improvement Association. One reason the Coltrane Church is important is that it defines for itself who are the saints that are worthy of our praise, instead of basing its doctrine on the philosophy and understanding of god that came out of the Council of Nicea.

San Francisco’s Black and Latino/a communities came together March 18 on the steps of City Hall to launch a united campaign to end police impunity in the officer-involved murders of Mario Woods, Alex Nieto and Amilcar Pérez López. The new Black and Brown United Coalition coalesced after the shocking March 10 exoneration of police in a federal civil trial in the killing of Alex Nieto, 28, by a jury on which no Blacks or Latinas or Latinos had been selected to serve.

Come enjoy the soulful sounds of Lenny Williams and other artists from around the Bay Area as we celebrate the 36th Annual Black Cuisine. The Black Cuisine Festival honors the cultural contributions of African Americans and their tradition of sharing delectable food and bringing people together. We will continue to honor the memory of Dr. Davis and his many Black Cuisine cooks at the Dr. George W. Davis Senior Center, Saturday, March 5, 2016, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

San Francisco is touted by conservative detractors and liberal boosters alike as the nation’s most progressive city. This is still true in many ways, even amidst towering symbols of gentrification. But, in particular, when it comes to holding police accountable for use of excessive force against communities of color, the City by the Bay is no different from the New Yorks, Chicagos, Baltimores or Fergusons of this country, where cops literally get away with murder. Think this is an exaggeration? Read on.

On Thursday, March 3, 2016, at 6:30 p.m., Marin City Health & Wellness Center (MCHWC) welcomes the Bayview Hunters Point community to an Open House in its newly expanded health clinic in the Arthur H. Coleman Medical Center. The event is free to the public and hors d’oeuvres will be served. The center was founded in 1960 by local leader and San Francisco community health pioneer Dr. Arthur Coleman to provide quality healthcare to the community.

Providence Baptist Church was packed for the second homegoing service for Dr. Espanola Jackson, a legendary icon to the people of Bayview Hunters Point and citywide. Her family and friends and city and state officials who have felt her pressure to do the right thing came to honor her so as to make sure, despite her transition, that justice prevails like a mighty stream – pure, powerful and calm.

It has often been said that one who has never known the pain of struggle can never truly appreciate the sweet taste of success. Denise Smith knows that struggle. Born in the San Francisco General Hospital and reared in Bayview-Hunters Point, the real estate entrepreneur has certainly experienced her share of ups and downs. Her new autobiography, “Rags to Real Estate: One Woman’s Journey to Empowerment,” inspired many.

Mama “E” was a well-loved woman who changed California, San Francisco and Bayview Hunters Point forever. With Bible scriptures, fearlessness, faith and divine love planted in her huge heart, chosen and powerfully guided from above, she set out to make changes, for justice and equality. A memorial service will be held on Thursday, Feb. 4, 5:30-7:30 p.m., at Grace Tabernacle Community Church, 1121 Oakdale Ave., and a homegoing service on Friday, Feb. 5, 12 noon, at Providence Baptist Church, 1601 McKinnon, off Third Street, both in Hunters Point, San Francisco.

Among the crowd of 150 activists were four young people holding a sign that simply read, “Last 3 Percent.” The words refer not directly to police violence but to the broader problem of the mass exodus of African Americans from San Francisco. Thousands have left their city of birth not because of any personal preference but because of political decisions and economic policies, many set into motion several decades ago.

Over 25 years ago, the Southeast Greenhouses located at 1150 Phelps St., along with the adjacent Community Facility, were constructed to help offset the impact of the Southeast Water Pollution Control Plant’s expansion. The goal was to bring economic and workforce development opportunities to Bayview residents by offering hands-on training and job opportunities through horticulture programming and other offerings.

Once a killer cop, always a killer cop! Black San Francisco is demanding that Mayor Ed Lee face the music and fire Chief Greg Suhr, as well as the five officers involved in the execution of Mario Woods, a young man with special needs who was gunned down by five gang members of the SFPD. Records reveal that many of the officers involved had used deadly force on unarmed individuals in the past.

In the wake of the brutal police execution of Mario Woods by San Francisco police in Bayview Hunters Point, many are asking where is California state Attorney General Kamala Harris? She was elected with the hope and expectation, naive as it may be, that she of all people would be out there weighing in and demanding justice for Mario. Sadly Harris has thus far been pretty much absent from the fight.