Bayview Opera House, Inc., colloquially known as the Opera House, was founded in 1989 to run programs at our namesake building, now officially named the Bayview Opera House Ruth Williams Memorial Theatre. The building is San Francisco’s Landmark #8 and it was inducted into the National Register of Historic Buildings in 2011. The San Francisco Arts Commission had purchased and renovated the facility in the 1970s for use as a community cultural center, along with three other centers in disadvantaged neighborhoods. By the end of 1980, the commission came to the conclusion that it was best to have each center run by a local group to provide programming instead of the commission itself running programs. BVOH received its 501(c)3 status in 1992.
The Opera House provides opportunities to engage in the arts for a community with a long history of disinvestment, creates a sense of belonging and community ownership of the only significant cultural resource in the neighborhood, maintains inclusiveness of the traditional population despite sweeping gentrification, and provides opportunities for education and employment to community youth and artists.
The Opera House strives to nurture, educate and inspire the next generation of artists of color. The Opera House grows new informed audiences from the community and the greater Bay Area and creates spaces for artists to experiment, collaborate and learn from one another.
The Opera House employs the arts to support aspirational values, hope, and passion, and to inspire the self-confidence, excellence, and self-esteem needed to be successful, especially for our youth.
The Opera House anchors the Bayview Hunters Point community by acting as a homing beacon even for community members who have been displaced and no longer live in Bayview, providing a central location where the community comes together to enjoy culturally relevant art exhibits and performances, community festivals, and local artists get their first opportunities to perform.
The Opera House builds social cohesion through arts-based events that are reflective of the rich cultural heritage of the Bayview community that appeal to multiple generations and both traditional and new residents.
MISSION STATEMENT
The Bayview Opera House Ruth Williams Memorial Theatre exists to appreciate Black arts and culture through the acknowledgment of our rich legacy and stewardship of our unique history while providing accessibility for artists and audiences to be activated through our transformative work that educates, inspires, and progresses excellence.
College Track's job is to ensure that young people have the opportunity to connect their talent, intellectual curiosity, and work ethic to San Francisco’s innovative industries and inspire lasting change for their families and communities. Since 2007, its center has supported more than 700 students to make a college degree the expectation, not the exception, in Bayview-Hunters Point. Its purpose is to democratize potential, through the power of education.
Feline Finesse Dance Company, est 2014, is a youth sisterhood stemming from the origins of the Bayview-Hunters Point community, San Francisco. Our mission is to create a safe haven for all young ladies to freely, creatively, and artistically express themselves through dance while empowering them to reach their full potential, goals, and dreams. They self-identify thru genres of Hip-hop and West African; but most importantly, we philosophize a sisterhood of love and self-respect. They not only teach choreography, but we educate our young ladies in dance fundamentals, technique, and overall etiquette.
Honey Art Studio was created to bring friends, families, co-workers, and even strangers together to explore their creative side. We embrace a learning environment that will prepare you for the path ahead. Our classes incorporate traditional learning styles as well as hands-on experiences.
Officers For Justice is a non-profit organization located at 5126 3rd St, Bayview, San Francisco, California 94124, US.
Its mission is to educate, train and provide resources to the community and support/promote self-esteem & enhance the quality of life.
Mission
The mission of Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center is to empower and increase the entrepreneurial capacities of socially and economically diverse women and men and thereby strengthen our communities through the creation of sustainable new businesses, new jobs, and the promotion of financial self-sufficiency.
Programs
Bayview: bayview - Renaissance Center : Renaissance Center (rencenter.org)
Women's Business Center: women’s business center - Renaissance Center : Renaissance Center (rencenter.org)
Financing Resource Center: financing resource center - Renaissance Center : Renaissance Center (rencenter.org)
Office & Meeting Space: Office Space Available at Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center : Renaissance Center (rencenter.org)
The San Francisco Black Firefighters Association (SFBFA) was founded in 1972 and is a chapter of the International Association of Black Professional Fire Fighters (IABPFF) which has 121 chapters and over 8000 members.
Its purpose for forming the SFBFA and joining forces with the International Association of Black Professional Fire Fighters (IABPFF) was to align with the efforts of firefighters on a national basis to address the issues facing Black firefighters. Their mission, now and in the future is to tirelessly work towards irradicating discriminatory practices within the SFFD that limit recruitment, hiring, promoting training, and education of Black and minority fire service professionals.
The mission of SFHDC is to foster financial stability through the development of affordable housing, the facilitation of homeownership, and the economic empowerment and revitalization of Bayview Hunters Point and other neighborhoods of Southeast San Francisco.
SFHDC was formed in 1988 by San Francisco residents who were interested in combating the widespread displacement of the ’60s and ’70s. Governmental agencies removed residents through ‘redevelopment programs’ that disproportionately affected African Americans and other people of color. Formed by African American community leaders, SFHDC continues to focus on serving people of color and the traditionally African American Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood.
The community of Bayview Hunters Point lags behind San Francisco at large. Economically depressed, the central streets are lined with vacant and blighted storefronts. Thousands of residents in the 94124 zip code (Bayview Hunters Point) live in poverty, totaling over 15% of the population. Numbers are even more staggering regarding the minority communities: 39% of African-Americans, 16% of Asian Americans, and 19% of Latinos live in poverty (U.S. Census Bureau). Residents in the neighborhood have seen generation after generation move away due to escalating housing costs and a lack of goods and services nearby. As a part of our comprehensive revitalization strategy, SFHDC uses financial education services to empower residents to use their money wisely. Education and encouraging smart financial behaviors to ensure improved lives, wealth building, and retention for our clients.