02/23/2026
This is Black History!
Back in December, members of our Senior Victory Club visited the for the “We Were There: Views of San Francisco’s Urban Renewal” exhibit. Highlighting the tragic and destructive history of San Francisco’s government-mandated redevelopment in the 1950s-1970s, the exhibit featured never-before-seen photographs from the Burden Archive (.archive ).
During the 1950s, Fillmore was a neighborhood sprawling with jazz clubs, pool halls, restaurants, and businesses. The vibrant music scene brought so many performers that the area was often referred to as “Harlem of the West.” After the Federal Housing Act of 1949, the neighborhood was destroyed and much of the Black community was displaced.
In 1960, two photographers, sculptor Sheila Stover and architect Erni Burden, set out to photograph the destruction. The photographs were never seen by the public until their son, Ernest Burden III, shared the prints with residents of Freedom West at their 50th Anniversary celebration event.
Our seniors were able to come together, view the exhibit, and reflect on this specific moment in history that so many of them were directly impacted by.
Thank you for all that you do to preserve San Francisco’s history!
