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employed as an administrative health professional at the
Community Health Service for Dr. Arthur H. Coleman. Dr. Coleman was a general practitioner who served the predominantly black community of Bayview, often making house calls and forgiving the medical bills of less fortunate families. Dr. Coleman was the first black physician and one of the last privately practicing family doctors in San Francisco's Bayview-Hunters Point district. He was a prominent community leader of his time. Working with Dr. Coleman, Ruth became engrossed in addressing healthcare disparities in her neighborhood. She spearheaded a program for women and children, focusing primarily on single parent mothers and connecting them to healthcare professionals for sex-education and women's health, eventually establishing a Family Planning Clinic which she ran for 25 years.
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within minutes. Word quickly spread, and the neighborhood was stricken with grief and anger. A crowd gathered at the scene on that unseasonably sweltering day, and by the evening, at least 200 had people began to wander down Third Street, throwing bottles and rocks at police cars and smashing the windows of businesses that were not Black-owned. This eventually became known as the
Hunters Point Social Uprising, and the following day, the Bayview Opera House would be at the center of it all.
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more resources for the
Bayview Hunters Point community and District 10. Ruth Williams was known for her unique ability of preventing the exploitation of the community by dispassionate corporate interests. In 1962 Ruth Williams served on the San Francisco Human Rights Commission's Employment Committee and was chairperson of the San Francisco General Outpatient Council, as well as working in the Planned Parenthood Clinic in sex education, parenting and drug rehabilitation.
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and self-empowerment of young black women. She founded the Miss Black San
Francisco Pageant which continued until 1984 when the first black woman, Vanessa Williams (no relation) won Miss America. Helen Vaughn, the mother of actress Terry Vaughn was a contestant in the first pageant. With her background in performing arts, Ruth Williams established the Bayview Repertory Theater Company and produced 37 plays as a writer and actress tab the Bayview Opera House.
56:, and Rosalie Williams. One source from 2007 identifies Ruth Williams as one of the Big Five instead of Bertha Freeman. A second source from 2011 states the Big Five includes Beatrice Dunbar instead of Rosalie Williams and identifies Julia Commer as "Julia Coleman". A third source from 1972 states Ardith Nichols was one of the Big Five instead of Rosalie Williams. The three undisputed members are Julia Commer, Osceola Washington, and Elouise Westbrook.
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The subsidized housing was composed of over 2,000 units of single-family housing and had a childcare center, named for
Sojourner Truth in the apartment complex. Ruth Williams and her husband George Williams, who was the executive director of the Bayview Hunters Point Housing Development Corporation, were also responsible for the first 14 single family residences on La Salle and Mendel, in Bayview shortly before her husband fell ill.
211:, Louisiana and from this union, six sons. When their sons were still young, in 1958 the couple moved with the boys to Vallejo, California with Ruth's sister. During this time, her husband George Williams, who was a World War II veteran (Tech Sergeant), worked at the Mare Island shipyard as a laborer, and the family moved to Floyd Terrace Apartments which was naval housing. Ruth was a stay-at-home mother of her six sons.
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Williamson, who worked for the
Workforce Progress Administration. In addition to African ancestry, Williams’ mother was Creole, speaking fluent French and her father was of European descent. In her hometown, segregation was the rule and her parents, being considered an interracial couple, married in Chicago-since it was illegal at the time for them to be married in the state of Louisiana.
207:, in San Francisco. Her goal was to become a journalist, however opportunities for women in this field were very limited at the time. Upon graduating Southern University, she met and married George Breaux, from which union two daughters. Later in April 1953 Ruth was remarried to George Williams Sr. in
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An estimated 700 protesters gathered at the intersection of Third Street and
Newcomb Avenue around 11 a.m., once again throwing miscellaneous objects at the police cars that were also there. Requesting backup, the officers began to push the protesters south along Third Street, eventually reaching the
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Williams was the creator and producer of the first Miss Black San
Francisco pageants in 1977, 1978, and 1979 to recognize the beauty of African American women. Her relationships with young single mothers of the southeastern community of Bayview Hunters Point, illuminated the need for more self-esteem
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The Big Five first became active in the early 1960s, confronting poverty and discrimination in
Hunters Point, filling the void left by weak religious leaders. Pat Womack identified them as "strong Black women who took a stand" They won fame by marching in 1973 in Washington DC for funds that had been
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Ruth
Williams was a producer, playwright and actress who produced numerous plays and musicals at the Bayview Opera House and was an integral influence on the careers of actor Danny Glover, singer Cindy Herron of En Vogue and local black playwrights and film makers. One of Ruth Williams last efforts
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The Bayview Opera House later became the first building in the Bayview to enter the National Register of Historic Places. The venue also hosted dances, tutorial programs and counseling services. The building was designated as City Landmark No. 8 — long before San Francisco City Hall and Ghirardelli
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Originally named the South San Francisco Opera House, the venue became the Bayview Opera House when South San Francisco became its own incorporated city. On December 7, 1995, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors renamed the facility The Bayview Opera House Ruth Williams Memorial Theater.(City and
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In 1960 the Williams family moved to San Francisco, California and lived in tenement housing on Howard Street (between 9th and 10th St). After nearly 3 years, the family moved to a rental house in the residential neighborhood of Bayview on Newcomb and Newhall. Around this time, Ruth Williams became
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in 1970 led to the release of 30 million dollars of Housing and Urban Development funds to Bayview Hunters Point residents. The Jackie Robinson Gardens Apartments in Hunters Point, a low-income affordable housing complex, and the first of its kind in Hunters Point, was co-founded by Ruth Williams.
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She became active in the Bayview Hunters Point District, aligning herself with the community's “Big Five,” Elouise Westbrook, Oceola Washington, Julie Commer, Bertha Freeman, and Rosie Lee Williams. The Big Five of Bayview were a group of women who were widely respected community leaders demanding
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Ruth Barbara Williamson; September 1, 1935 - January 27, 1995) was an African American producer, playwright, actress, educator and activist in San Francisco California from the 1960s until the 1990s. She was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana to Charlotte (Herbert) Williamson, a seamstress, and Dallas
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After George Williams’, untimely death in 1973 from hypertension, Ruth Williams mounted a campaign to combat the disproportionate impact of high blood pressure and heart disease on the African American community. She organized a fundraiser at Candlestick Park, and the largest soul and gospel show
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The building was already in a state of disrepair in 1967 when it was riddled with bullets from the gunfire of the National Guard in reaction to a suspected sniper on the building. In the wake of the shooting, Williams was successful in obtaining the funds to hire African-American architect Harry
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On Sept. 27, 1966, tragedy had struck. Mounting racial tensions reached a critical point when an unarmed 16-year-old Black teenager, Matthew “Peanut” Johnson, was shot in the back by a white police officer, Alvin Johnson, as he fled from the scene of a reportedly stolen car. Matthew Johnson died
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Williams’ produced a telethon for high blood pressure featuring national celebrities such as Angie Dickenson, Charlie Dearcopp, Robert Guilliame, Chaka Kahn, and others. Musical Artists Earth, Wind and Fire bandmembers donated $ 1,000 each. Williams raised $ 55,000 for the Bayview Hunters Point
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was a loan in the amount of $ 200,000 that was approved by the Bayview Hunter's Point Economic Development Task Force to build a program around the arts for up and coming youth of Bayview Hunters Point, which was met with opposition in the city's bureaucracy and never materialized.
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The five African-American women were all outspoken mothers and members of the Crispus Attucks Club who worked to improve their neighborhood. Arthur Hippler characterized the day-to-day social organization of Hunters Point as "matrifocal".
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County of San Francisco Resolution No.1027-95) Ruth Williams had played a leading role in promoting the arts and culture of the Bayview-Hunters Point and preventing the demolition of the historic structure in the 1960s after a riot.
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Elouise (sometimes written as Eloise) Westbrook was born in Gatesville, Texas in 1915 and moved to San Francisco in 1949. She died in her home on September 13, 2011. At her funeral on September 21, 2011, she was eulogized by Mayor
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promised to complete the housing to replace temporary housing in Hunters Point, not leaving until they had secured a $ 30 million grant. Streets and landmarks in the neighborhood have since been named in their honor.
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Her work in the community escalated over the years, serving on the Joint Housing Committee, Poverty Council, Butchertown Homeowners and Tenants Association, and the Model Cities Commission. In 1967,
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One writer identified Espanola Jackson as the successor matriarch in Bayview/Hunters Point. Mary Rogers was cited as having filled a similar role for the Fillmore/Western Addition district.
405:. Hunters Point (Former) Naval Shpyard Disposal and Reuse: Environmental Impact Statement, Volume 1 (Report). Southwest Division, Naval Facilities Engineering Command. March 2000
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Commer was credited as "one of the community leaders who had fought to turn the 134-acre slum ... into a new environment of garden homes and sparkling schools" in a 1978
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Overstreet to renovate and restore the landmark building. Actor Danny Glover was also a program manager and evaluation specialist responsible for remodeling the space.
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Bertha Freeman was featured on the news for leading a community sub-committee that selected teaching assistants for the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood.
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community. The funds were used to educate the community on the impact of hypertension, then known as the silent killer of many African Americans.
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ever performed in Bayview Hunters Point, soliciting the assistance of such outstanding artists as musical director and composer,
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who were instrumental in backing the India Basin and Hunters Point Redevelopment Projects to completion in the 1960s and 1970s.
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https://bvoh.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Community-Leader-Ruth-Williams-Passes-newspaper-from-library-archive.pdf
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article describing the demolition of the temporary housing built to house World War II shipyard workers at the
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visited Bayview Hunters Point and spoke with Ruth Williams about the issues of poverty facing the community.
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The Big Five are identified in a 1996 oral history as Julia Commer, Bertha Freeman, Osceola Washington,
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majoring in theater and minoring in sociology. Later, she went on to undertake the Masters program at
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As noted above, the following five names have been advanced as part of the Big Five on some lists.
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https://bvoh.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Opera-House-May-be-Renamed-SF-Independent-4.3.1995.pdf
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523:"In memory of Elouise Westbrook, 1915–2011: A message to my community and extended family"
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The Postwar Struggle for Civil Rights: African Americans in San Francisco, 1945–1975
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Includes interview with Julia Commer and testimony by Osceola Washington.
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Includes interview with Julia Commer and testimony by Osceola Washington.
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Includes interview with Julia Commer and testimony by Osceola Washington.
403:"Appendix D: Hunters Point Shipyard, A Community History (February 1996)"
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Square, largely due to Ruth Williams’ efforts to protect the space.
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Williams completed her college education in the early 1950s at
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764:"Public Hearing in Bayview Hunters Point with Robert Kennedy"
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Point of Pride: The People's View of Bayview/Hunter's Point
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were community leaders and political activists from the
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http://zaccho.org/medias/dl/program-picturebayview.pdf
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Hippler, Arthur E. (1974). "8: Social Organization".
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Community leaders in San Francisco in the 1960s–70s
711:"Eloise Westbrook on the New Look for Hunters Point"
472:""I heard that:" A San Francisco pioneer passes ..."
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community center housed in the Bayview Opera House.
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229:Ruth Williams’ testimony before the United States
728:"San Francisco Poverty Tour with Robert Kennedy"
585:"San Francisco's oldest theater has seen it all"
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746:"Robert Kennedy visits with Black Community"
766:. San Francisco Bay Area Television Archive
748:. San Francisco Bay Area Television Archive
730:. San Francisco Bay Area Television Archive
713:. San Francisco Bay Area Television Archive
551:. San Francsico Bay Area Television Archive
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800:African-American history in San Francisco
795:Activists from the San Francisco Bay Area
521:Jones-Presley, Balynda (8 October 2011).
148:Learn how and when to remove this message
470:Metcalfe, Rochelle (28 September 2011).
366:. New York: Basic Books, Inc. pp.
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434:Betcher, Jeffrey (18 November 2007).
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810:Bayview–Hunters Point, San Francisco
692:. Bayview Footprints. Archived from
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130:adding citations to reliable sources
604:Hebert, Susan (September 3, 1995).
549:"Hunters Point Teaching Assistants"
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613:San Francisco Independent Journal
495:Grieg, Michael (18 August 1978).
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497:"Good Riddance to Bad Housing"
362:Hunter's Point: A Black Ghetto
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285:After several years battling
205:Lone Mountain Women's College
790:American political activists
606:"Opera House May Be Renamed"
436:"People Made the BVHP Great"
70:San Francisco Naval Shipyard
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709:KPIX (25 October 1972).
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324:Miller, Paul T. (2010).
571:"Opera House - FoundSF"
501:San Francisco Chronicle
66:San Francisco Chronicle
527:San Francisco Bay View
440:BayviewFootprints.org
762:KQED (10 May 1967).
744:KRON (10 May 1967).
726:KPIX (10 May 1967).
126:improve this article
98:Alternate membership
696:on 28 February 2018
446:on 28 February 2018
201:Southern University
21:Big Five of Bayview
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292:References
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643:Archived
419:Archived
138:May 2023
35:Activism
684:YouTube
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