Keshia Groves

Keshia is a Family Nurse Practitioner at Bayview Child Health Center (BCHC), where she is part of a team that provides compassionate, trauma-informed primary healthcare and works closely with the HOPE SF communities in Sunnydale, Double Rock, and Hunters View to offer free COVID-19 testing and vaccination. Keshia talks about the collaboration and partnerships that have developed in response to the pandemic and how they remind her of the Bay Area’s true spirit, which, she says, “is cross-cultural, is about looking out for your neighbor, and is all love.”

What makes you ‘Black and Proud’?

There are so many reasons why I’m Black and proud. As a Black woman, my presence reflects the love, strength, and ingenuity of my ancestors. We are resourceful; we make a way out of no way. We are trend setters and natural born leaders. We are often imitated but never duplicated. The essence of our culture and our history is dipped in determination and creativity.

Name a Black Professional you admire and why?

Dr. Avivah McPherson is a brilliant Pediatric Primary Care Psychologist who works with the Center for Youth Wellness. BCHC and Center for Youth Wellness partner together to provide our primary care patients mental and behavioral health services. Our organizations recognize stressors related to adverse childhood experiences and systems of white supremacy that contribute to acute and chronic illness. Our joint goal is to support the mental wellness of our patient population to improve general health outcomes.

The history of Black people in America reflects the dire need for robust mental health services in our community, and most importantly, to be delivered by providers who look like us. Dr. Avivah is beloved by our patients and has supported many patients and families through their healing journey. She is a proud black woman who operates from a space of passion and authenticity to offer culturally competent care to the Bayview Hunters Point.

What are you the most hopeful about the future of the Black and African American community or the HOPE SF community?

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, community partners across the City have banded together and worked tirelessly to offer essential resources to the Bayview and surrounding neighborhoods. I am in awe of the BCHC’s constant collaboration. I hope the relationships we have cultivated with HOPE SF and all of our partners extend beyond the pandemic so we can best serve our greater community in the years to come.

Damon Harris

Damon Harris is the Vice President of Community Development at BRIDGE Housing. BRIDGE is the primary developer of HOPE SF’s Potrero Terrace and Annex site. Damon’s community development team works to support residents in building community with each other and the institutions that serve them, improve the economic mobility environment, and community safety.

What makes you Black and Proud?

The inventiveness and resilience of Black people in America (and throughout the diaspora) is a great source of personal pride for me and a north star for times of personal struggle. We are a brilliant and a creative people. We have rescued America time and time again from fascism by shining a light on this nation’s soul. There is nothing Black people cannot do if we set our minds to it.

Who do you admire? Dr. Cornel West is my hero! I love that he is direct about naming the agents of harm and reconnecting people to their power and agency.

What are you the most hopeful about the future of the Black/African American community or the HOPE SF community? Black people all over the world are reconnecting with their power and identity. We are on the cusp of an international anti-imperialist movement that prioritizes life over capital. The future is bright.

Ms. Tachelle 

Tachelle considers herself to be one of the best educators in America. She has assisted over 300 students as they transition into college, and she has witnessed over 100 students graduate from college. When asked who she admires, she confidently answers, “I admire myself.” She shares a story below of the famous Black librarian in Hunters Point, named Linda Burton Brooks who made an impression on her.

Tachelle’s words

When I was thirteen years old, she told me I was amazing. Later, she sent me to college and told me not to come back unless I earned a college degree. Not only did I earn three associate degrees, two bachelor’s degree, and one master’s degree, but I admire my ability to accomplish those impossible tasks with PTSD and depression. I left my community village in 1996 and returned in 2012, ready and willing to DO THE WORK needed to move us forward.

Educating students is not easy. I have worked hard to give students the tools needed to be successful in their academic pursuits. I have taught Ethnic Studies and Black Studies in public and charter schools, escorted over 320 students on a tour of Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the south, and provided a way for students to earn college credits through the San Francisco State University’s Steps to College program.

What makes you Black and Proud?

I celebrate my Blackness with all the privileges and rights given to me from people who have come before me. What makes me Black and proud is my heart, mind, body, and soul.  Since my heart pumps pure royal Black blood 100 beats per minute through Alkebulan (otherwise known as Africa) veins , I am a rare kind. My body carries melanin that makes me proud. In my soul, my ancestors did not have chains; they had kingdoms and empires. They came to America and made it great. I am a Black, bold, and beautiful 365 days a year; I am Black by Nature and Proud by choice.

What are you the most hopeful about the future of the Black/African American community or the HOPE SF community?

I am hopeful that the  SF Community is provided with better living conditions. When I was three years old, I lived in Sunnydale, where there were no grass, trees, playgrounds, or healthy grocery stores for families. As a child, I was miserable. There was nothing to do in the community but play in the dirt and eat junk food. I am now forty years old, and I have seen Sunnydale, Double Rock, West Point and Potrero Hill transformed in order to better serve the community and the people who live there. Healthy food, hands on activities, educational and mental services are available now. I am hopeful that organizations will continue to support the people who live in HOPE SF sites. As long as there are people, there will always be a need for healthy services.

Nate Ford

Nate is a lifelong San Franciscan.

Nate’s Words

In 1990, I started the San Francisco Rebels, a basketball program that has garnered national attention. We use basketball as the “carrot” to encourage young people to do well in our academic and case management programs, as well as give back to their community through our service and leadership curriculum.

During my time working for Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco, and now at the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department, I have spent many days in the HOPE communities, whether to comfort and give support to a kid or to engage them in positive extracurricular activities. I pride myself on working with kids who need a little guidance or redirection. It gives me a great feeling to know that a kid depends on me to give them good advice or introduce them to new things.

At the end of the day, community is what I do. With the SF Rebels, I have had the great opportunity to take kids out of state to compete at the highest levels in youth sports.

We have paved the way for young people to obtain scholarships to prestigious high schools and eventually go on to college. We have even had kids that have made It to the professional ranks in sports. Jason Hill, who grew up in housing at Plaza East went on to play in the NFL, Pitt Plaza’s Taylor Johns is playing basketball professionally overseas, Jene Morris, Sunnydale’s own Brandy Reed, and Amanda Lassiter have all played in the WNBA. Taiwan Jones of the Buffalo Bills also came through the SF Rebels Program.

Their smiles and sense of pride, coupled with them overcoming life’s obstacles and adversity, and being able to help them see light at the end of the tunnel are the most rewarding things that I can ever witness.

Name a Black Leader you admire and why. 

I admire Magic Johnson for his courage to stand up and fight against HIV and AIDS. A guy of his stature getting out in front of the public probably saved countless lives. He didn’t let his diagnosis get in the way of giving back to the community—he created jobs and careers and showed Black people how to invest. His accomplishments ultimately put him on the Fortune 500 list and earned him lots of respect in our communities.

What are you the most hopeful about the future of the Black/African American community or the HOPE SF community?

I’m hopeful because we are beginning to see a li’l light at the end of the tunnel. I say “A li’l light” because we have a very long way to go, but the needle is moving a bit. This pandemic has tested our character and durability, and we are standing strong

This moment is no different—we will recover and we will start to make progress after the years of injustice to our communities. I believe the leaders we have in office are determined to make this right for People of Color.

Brianna Rogers

Brianna joined The San Francisco Foundation in October as the Initiative Associate for the Partnership for HOPE SF. She is a Berkeley native and the mother of 19-year-old, Daija, who is a sophomore student at Northridge University studying public health.

When asked how she celebrates her Blackness, Brianna says “I celebrate my Blackness by making a point to be GREAT at everything I do.”

“I have worked extremely hard to overcome various consequences of being a Black system-impacted woman, and I have found my freedom through a personal commitment to operate at my highest potential. The way I see it—if I give my all in everything I do, I will always be proud of everything I’ve done.”

In 2014, Brianna tasked herself with the challenge of returning to college after a 14 year break from her studies. She put one foot in front the other, and today she has a master’s degree in public policy management from Georgetown University and a B.A. from UC Berkeley in Rhetoric Studies.

She uses her personal experience living in foster care as fuel to finish life’s journey ahead. Simply put, Brianna is a force! When asked about HOPE SF, Brianna excitedly says “I am so honored to start my career in philanthropy with the HOPE SF initiative and as a San Francisco Foundation employee. I have always said that I want to work with real people dealing with real issues. In my opinion, it doesn’t get any realer than this.

Betty Hunter

Betty is the mother of 14-year-old son, Angel. She is a resident of HOPE SF’s Sunnydale community and the 2020 HOPE SF Mayoral Fellow, where she works to create wealth and homeownership for communities that have been historically marginalized. Betty is committed to reaching new levels of Black woman ownership.

Please share what makes YOU “Black and Proud”.

Betty: What makes me Black and proud is to see Black people embracing their culture, heritage, and beauty. I am Black and proud. I appreciate my community coming together and fighting for each other as well as the support from some of our white allies. I also appreciate seeing more Black women ownership. To know that we have a Black woman as Vice President, many more in the Senate and the House, and some as mayors of cities makes me so proud to be Black. I am proud to know that while my ancestors struggled, it wasn’t because they were Black. Black ain’t whack. It’s where it’s at!

Name a Black person you admire and why?

Betty: The ‘Big Five’ was a group of Black/African American women from Bayview Hunters Point. They were mothers that experienced the problems that continue to plague our families and communities today. These women, including my grandmother, Rosie Lee Williams, formed the Big Five to address the needs of community. They were instrumental in the Indian Basin and Hunters Point redevelopment projects in the 1960’s and 1970’s. They sat down with presidential candidate, Robert Kennedy when he visited San Francisco in 1967 to discuss living conditions in San Francisco’s predominantly Black neighborhoods, and they marched in Washington, D.C. in 1973, demanding funds that had been promised to replace temporary housing in Hunters Point.

My grandmother, Rosie Lee, was the founder of The Whitney Young Child Development and After School Center, located in Bayview Hunters Point, which she started because she recognized the need for greater support for low-income families in the neighborhood. To this day, the center has a reputation for providing excellent child and family supportive services.

I admire the Big Five for their dedication to improving their communities. These women stood up, answered the call to lead, not for recognition, but for the betterment of their communities and their hope that future generations would no longer have to struggle. Today, their legacy lives on—many mothers, including myself, continue to fight for freedom; it is our duty.

Black History Highlights written by Brianna Rogers, Initiative Associate for the Partnership for Hope SF