Born and raised…right smack dab in the Fillmo’ in the fifties. A black kid with Japanese friends, along with Jewish friends, along with friends. A magical neighborhood. Redevelopment ruined it.

Ossie Davis narrating❤ doc from the 90s😢

I have a Jimbo’s Bop City Press Pass framed on my wall. I came out from Philadelphia to go to San Francisco State College and worked at The Bean Pot and The House of Pies in Playland to pay my tuition. Mayor Christopher changed the charm of the city with “Redevelopment” he tore down the Fillmore, Playland, etc. HE was the blight.

Watching this documentary breaks my heart knowing this is happening across most low income areas across the country

Growing up in that area at such a young age I didn’t understand a lot of things. This documentary helped me fill in the blanks.. 🙏🏼

I worked for KQED at the time the Neighborhood series was being created. Plans originally included most neighborhoods in SF but funding ran out after The Castro, The Mission, Chinatown and The Fillmore. I begged the producer to interview several key people who knew and lived North Beach history before they were gone. I believe he talked by phone with Fred Kuh (owner of the Savoy Tivoli and the Original Spaghetti Factory) but funding was not found.

My favorite album was recorded in the Fillmore--"Aretha Franklin at the Filmore West." Loved the area.

I used to work at a Japanese restaurant on Fillmore St. Named Toraya restaurant. Across the street was Jack's Bar and jazz club. An also was Leon's BBQ. Next door was a Baptist church. This was in the 1970's. I remember on the weekends the ally was full of Cadillac's. An Jack's was jumping. I was 16 years old. The restaurant was between Bush and Pine streets. An the ally was called Wilmot.

This made me miss my grandma

Something that this history of SF omits is that the Black Americans who migrated there early in WW2 were SOLICITED to migrate by the US Govt which dropped fliers from planes in Southern States telling them about all the good paying jobs at the shipyards in CA. Then in 1945 the war ended and all those Black Americans were DUMPED on the street to fend for themselves after the White men coming back from the war were given their jobs. These were mainly rural folks who got stranded in an urban environment where they couldn't grow a vegetable. THAT was the beginning of the Welfare State in CA. All the original Black neighborhoods in the Bay Area are near the WW2 shipyards like Hunters Point, Oakland, Richmond, & Vallejo. I only heard this story one time and it was in 1970 from a native White San Franciscan who spent the whole war on an Army base in Alabama. I'm inclined to believe him because he Really Hated Black People and a random comment by me caused an emotional explosion of hate in him that then caused him to spontaneously tell me this story. If true, then this was an example of Social Engineering coming from the top, much like letting 10 million illegal migrants flood across our Southern Border. It's all about the Game of Money & Power, folks, and you & me are just pawns. God Bless America !!! ... joekulik999 [at] GeeMale.

No better voice for this doc than “The Mayor” himself. Mr Davis

Thank you for this documentary.

Appreciate the documentary 😢😢😢🙏🏿🙂

"Imminent Domain" needs to be removed from the Governments Right to steal property from American Citizens.

Redevelopment has damaged more than it saved.

So grateful for this reporting.

Beautiful documentary

I was born 1952 and raised in the Fillmore and problem with the Fillmore is someone’s always trying to change it. It didn’t need changing it had its own culture. We had banks, clothing, stores, TV, shops, Booker T. Washington hotels which I used to live in. We didn’t need nothing but For people to keep the ideals to them selves

this is a great documentary!

What happened to Fillmore happened everywhere…. and strategically so. Our communities were purposely and systematically decimated! I’m still angry because it’s still occurring now through gentrification…. called “urban renewal” then…. but it’s the same old monstrosity of a plan to destroy our economy and way of life! Angers me immensely!

Wow, this sounds just like Boyle Heights here in Los Angeles. This is a wonderful documentary.

I was raise in the Pink Palace on Turk Steet in the 60's

This was so enlightening and educational…. I enjoyed this documentary and I wonder if any of my relatives from Alabama resided there in the 1940s and beyond?

i am speachless.

Is that the voice of OSSIE Davis narration 😮

The History of the Fillmore what an incredible documentary… I ❤ history and I didn’t know about the Japanese, Black Americans or the People Temple and how it relates to the Fillmore District… All three were seeking a better LIFE within the Fillmore District… Bittersweet memories but an amazing documentary… “Thank You”❤❤❤

I came right towards the end. I remember the Uptown Theater, when they destroyed all of those Victorian homes by "Emminent Domain" to build the Japanese Center. All of those lies that SF told. I also remember those who could afford it, had their homes moved. All b4 I was 10 years old.

Tell us about the development of hunters point and Bayview

THANKS FOR THIS DOCUMENTARY!...IT WAS VERY INFORMATIVE! THANKS FOR SHARING! GOD BLESS AMERICA/USA!!

America is reaping what is sowed. 😢

This is the only documentary that I have seen who accurately linked Jonestown to the disbandment of the Filmore!

We had a motorcycle club, called the rattlers the head of the club with my uncle. It was like security for our neighborhood, and we liked it just the way it was.

I love listening and reading about our history. Love this very much

Ooh. I gotta take a break. I'm getting too angry. 🙏

Heavy

Hey Fillmore, the last 10 years thank you for all the good years❤❤❤

I just finished reading On The Rooftop by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton and it brought me here. I suggest you read it, it is a great story that takes place around this time frame. This video highlights the disconnect from the politicians to the actual community members.

Someone please tell me who sang that song at the very end of this magnificent ducumentry... l think it's called... Maybe I'll See You Again ? I don't know if it's in the credits... the singer sounds like a young Nate King Cole.

The city In current bad condition and needs federal funds for repairs is Richmond, California it’s sad to see the current situation in Richmond 😢

My father come from Louisiana and my mother, all the children that was born in the 50s has really happy and we was all spoil. Everybody was happy.

Wow. I never knew about this. Thank you for the education.

There's OG Reggie my old barber from the 1980's. 💯

Fillmoe Westside resident ☝🏿

I love this stuff wish they more media like this!!

San Francisco needs to see this. Then turn around and look how they have destroyed San Francisco and surrounding areas.

What the people want and what the government is gonna do, are two different books!

No one has hurt us more than the government!!!

The same thing they did to The Filmore; they did here in Miami. Put an expressway thru Historic Overtown which to this day separates Miami Overtown neighborhood(a black neighborhood) from Miami Beach(which was whites only at the time after dark: blacks couldn't go at night unless they had a pass to work). Black entertainers could perform on the beach but would have to stay in Overtown at The Hampton House Hotel(Dr. King, Malcolm X, Jim Brown & Muhammad Ali all once stayed there & others). To this day there are less than 1% of black ppl who live on Miami South Beach. Too expensive!

Charles Collins looks like and sounds like Ralph Carter.

My family moved to SF in 1972 both parents had no job so we moved in the Turk st project's we were on Walfare and got food stamps and government cheese for a minute how come they didn't mention that the pink palace was on eddy st between Fillmore on Webster I could go on and on

Asians, Africans, Irish, Germans, Mexicans Scotts,Swedes,Norwegians, Slavics, so on and so forth

Damn I remember when they had Adidas store there… Harputs? Hahahaha….

And Jim Jones the people's temple in the Bayview

Do you wanna know something about San Francisco? Fillmore asked Johnny Mathis he grew up there and I did his 50th anniversary with KQED.

It’s changed so much 🥺 This was beautiful, yet very sad to watch. 🫶🏾

RIP BILL GRAHM & the Fillmore.

Time to rename Justin Herman Plaza

Going to history..what about jazz..to my understanding san Francisco already had its history the castro..valley..i think for hundreds of thousands of years black community they have suffered a lot.

Same way "Indiana Avenue" was handled.

If they're going to talk about the good they should also talk about the people they stepped on to get on top. Where's the good and bad parts of the city's history?

❤❤❤❤

1:05:58 this is how it was in the beginning before them their grandmothers and grandfathers had to go through that on a show called audio diabetic play show what America was like before Europeans all the cities in buildings that were destroyed😮😢😐😑😐🙄🤡🤡🤡

How educational. Why can't we preserve anything?

Thats the last neighborhood I would be going to let alone the entire city has bern trashed.

"Nobody was there" 🙄

Those where not black people or African Americans, black isn't a race or nationality. They (WE) are the copper-colored Indigenous American Indians. History stolen and forgotten.

Tartarian structures

Damn it, you should have been showing clearly the years of these photos of EVERY picture. Poor, very poor presentation. Get better.

Strange things are happening in the city and Fillmore, you can tell by the way people stare, btw tacos are $10 and baseball caps are $60. Politicians are busy playing the blame game while they neglect our city and help other countries. The story no one likes to tell, which one? What about the women? Today it's ok to get taken advantage of by whites and blacks if you're brown. His color is now accepted, what about everyone else? Violence on violence is still not ok. We hear the story of the resilient black man over and over again. What about the brown women they're taking advantage of from Florida to Fillmore? Everytime I try to tell a story, I get hushed up. Predators are always protected esp in the Marin/Sf area. Fillmore is becoming little Europe, on top of sa in the workplace, they are firing brown people left and right without warning. Those are the laws for now. #survivorofredmintspa 2023 #survivorofdominiquemcdowell 2021 one of many. -another perspective on sf culture from a local who's seen lots of changes and talked to many people in Sf/Fillmore.

In the 60 drug addiction, pimping, prostition, run down housing, is what i remmber Food Land Grocery Store, and all black peoples the 1906 earthquake destroy the fillmore

City's imploding in 2024..😪

Yup the irony we didn’t give af about what they doing but they’re always give af about we’re doing. Lls almost like we’re having more fun so ruin it lol

Black migrants🙄🤔🤦🏾👎🏾NEVER WHERE MY PPL IMAGE ANT'S 🤦🏾

The Japanese maintained the neighborhood and their thriving businesses in pristine state but unfortunately the African Americans left it in shambles due to not upkeeping the properties. If the Japanese were to have never have had to evacuate their homes, businesses and their neighborhood it would still be standing today. The reason the neighborhood was torn down and urban renewal was implemented was because the blacks left it in shambles and it become a ghetto.

🙌🏽👏🏽👏🏽🫱🏾‍🫲🏿🫱🏾‍🫲🏿👍🏾🤜🏿✊🏿✊🏿 Black, Hispanic and Native Americans are the true descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and are in fact the real Jews also known as the Israelites and the 12 Tribes of Israel, according to the Bible. Our belief system is not founded upon the philosophies of men, our thoughts, nor our feelings but instead the sacred scriptural writings of the Holy Bible.

then the Black Community owes restitution to the Japanese.