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San Francisco’s Black community doesn’t just deserve attention in February, but every day
by Shakirah Simley, Executive Director, Booker T. Washington Community Service Center
I am originally from Harlem, New York, but have lived in the Western Addition and Fillmore neighborhoods in San Francisco for the last 13 years. For me, coming to serve San Francisco has been a continuation and extension of my life in social justice, community organizing and policy.
San Francisco has always been at the heart of sustainability, gender and food justice work. So, upon first arriving here, I was excited to strengthen and broaden my experiences doing what I’m best at: serving my community.
Though I got to work right away, first working with Bayview residents at the Southeast Community Facility as a District 5 legislative aide to Vallie Brown and then as director of San Francisco’s first Office of Racial Equity, I was quickly confronted by the progessive legacy of limiting the Black community by pushing policies that maintain San Francisco’s deep segregation and accelerate gentrification – while never atoning for the impacts of redevelopment.
Now, as the Executive Director of the over 100-year-old Booker T. Washington Community Service Center (BTWCSC) since July 2021, I am razor focused on addressing the systemic issues that have plagued the Black community and other vulnerable communities in San Francisco. Black people are canaries in a coal mine, forced to be on the front lines of America.
I believe solving any challenges that face our community will ultimately create solutions that can and will provide support and resources to uplift the quality of life for all Americans, but particularly, the new majority. The question has always been whether the old majority wants this for us or not – and so far, the answer has been a resounding, “No.”
In contextualizing more current events like the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s important to realize that this was not the first pandemic to hit our community. Long before this health pandemic we were grappling with substance abuse, homelessness, community-based violence and deep economic inequality. The COVID-19 pandemic has been an added layer on top of these slow disasters, only continuing to destabilize the Black community in San Francisco and around the country.
And, though Black-led non-profit organizations have been on the front lines working hard each day to help alleviate the suffering of the Black community, of seniors, immigrants, communities of color, LGBTQIA youth and more, we have been systematically under-resourced and under-funded when compared to white-led non-profit organizations – though the breadth, depth and effectiveness of the programs we provide to members of our organizations and community continue to be expansive and all-encompassing.
At Booker T., for example, our team has responded to COVID-19 by offering free testing and vaccinations on-site and to neighboring housing sites, distributing emergency support to families impacted by COVID-19 and launching a Black-led community wellness initiative with community partners: Ella Hill Hutch Community Center and Collective Impact, New Leadership Community Foundation, the UCSF Black Health Initiative, Wise Health and Safer Together.
Also, in partnership with San Francisco-Marin Food Bank, we adapted our food pantry operations to ensure the safety of our seniors, differently-abled and homebound individuals by delivering groceries and frozen meals every day of the week.
We also launched Fillmore, Feel Well to support the health and holistic well-being of the Black community. This program provides in-person or virtual care and wellness opportunities directly to public housing sites across the Fillmore and Western Addition, in addition to featuring healing spaces, family-friendly activities, healthy soul food, Black heritage produce, fitness activities, free COVID-19 testing and vaccinations, and wellness kits that include mental health, substance abuse, maternal health and elder health resources.
Then, in November 2021, we launched a new food justice initiative, Service to Soul, where we partner with local Black farmers and chefs, including Pia Harris from Nia Soul, to bring fresh and nourishing meal boxes to the community. Currently, we have 250 families and individuals signed up to receive hot fresh meals every Friday evening, a key time for food insecurity.
We also have 66 neighborhood families signed up, receiving 8 lbs. of fresh and local organic produce boxes every Tuesday, and an additional 20 households on the waiting list. Now, at 700 meals a week, we have a goal to scale up to 1,200 households per week in the next few months.
These new programs, in conjunction with our other programs and community partners, will aid in the recovery and regeneration of the Black community in San Francisco by bringing support, increasing solidarity, sharing resources and re-establishing critical community bonds. As Booker T. Washington himself said: “If you want to lift yourself up, lift someone else.”
While this is just a snapshot of the kind of programming we have at Booker T., we constantly have to stretch our dollars to provide for our community. My question is: How long should we have to be under-resourced and under-capitalized, compared to our white-led counterparts?
Most Black people hoped that after 2020, when the world was confronted with the underbelly of America’s ugly truth – Black lives have not mattered in America since our country was founded, and as a result, Black people have been systematically devalued and destroyed – that there would finally be an acknowledgement, that among many things, it will take decades of not just investment but over-investment in the Black community and Black-led organizations to course correct the ills of the past. Unfortunately, we are still waiting for this to be realized.
So, as it’s Black History Month, we must acknowledge that these issues and challenges facing the Black community don’t just deserve attention in February, but every day. And, while our community will recover, it’s not possible without the support of Black-led institutions within Black neighborhoods that are there to serve, connect, resource, stabilize and nourish them in a way that respects their dignity and agency.
For Black-led organizations to do this, they require Black leaders who have the support of their community and funders who understand the history of this country and are ready to resource and center Black equity.
Because, a city where Black equity and leaders are centered not sidelined is a city that is ready to turn the page on the legacy of racism, segregation, gentrification and lack of investment.
Shakirah Simley is a writer, seasoned organizer and community development and policy strategist with over 15 years of experience working on social justice and equity issues. She was the inaugural director for the Office of Racial Equity for the City and County of San Francisco and currently serves as Booker T. Washington Service Community Center’s executive director. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Shakirah is a Fulbright Scholar, former food artisan and forever food justice advocate. Contact Shakirah here by email at info@btwcsc.org.
