Comment side effects if Xanax
15 years ago
Monday, May 25, 2009
Sea of Love 1959 by John Phillip Baptiste
Sea of Love (song)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| “Sea of Love” | ||
|---|---|---|
 "Sea of Love" sheet music | ||
| Song by Phil Phillips | ||
| Published | 1959 | |
| Released | 1959 | |
| Recorded | 1959 | |
| Genre | rock and roll, pop, rhythm and blues | |
| Length | 2:30 | |
| Label | Mercury Records | |
| Writer | Phil Phillips, George Khoury | |
| Composer | Phil Phillips, George Khoury | |
"Sea of Love" is a song written by John Phillip Baptiste (aka Phil Phillips) and George Khoury. Phillips' 1959 recording of the song peaked at #1 on the U.S. Billboard R&B chart and #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.[1] In the UK, Marty Wilde covered the song, and Phillips' version failed to chart there. It was the first and only top 40 chart song for Phillips, who never recorded another hit.[2]
The song has been covered by a number of artists since then, most notably by The Honeydrippers, whose version (from the album The Honeydrippers: Volume One) reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #1 on the adult contemporary chart in 1984.[3] Tom Waits gave the song a darker twist for the soundtrack to the 1989 Harold Becker film Sea of Love starring Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin, and Waits included it on his 2006 collection Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards. "Sea of Love" had made the Top 40 just one other time, when Del Shannon took it to #33 in 1981.
Contents[hide] |
[edit]Background
Baptiste, who was working as a bellboy in Lake Charles, Louisiana, USA, wrote "Sea of Love" for a love interest. He was introduced to localrecord producer George Khoury, who brought Baptiste into his studio to record the song. At Khoury's request, Baptiste took the stage nameof Phil Phillips. The song, originally credited to Phil Phillips with The Twilights, was released on a small record label owned by Khoury, but due to its success was eventually leased to Mercury Records. Despite the song's success, Phillips claims that he has only ever receivedUS$6,800 for recording it.[2]
[edit]Usage in film and television
The song was the subject of the 1989 Harold Becker film Sea of Love starring Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin. The 2007 film, Juno, features a cover version of the song by Cat Power in its soundtrack.
The song was featured at the end of an episode of The Simpsons entitled "Future-Drama" in 2005. It also can be heard in the 2008 episode "The Burns and the Bees", put on by Moe while the queen bee is making out with all the little drones.
A skipping record of the song is played during a scene in the 2000 film Frequency.
[edit]Cover versions
- Marty Wilde (1959); reached No 3 in the UK charts. This version was engineered by British record producer Joe Meek.
- Jimmy Velvit recorded a version of "Sea Of Love" for his 2001, Grammy nominated, album Sun Sea & Sand (Seduction Records SCD-103). (2:57)
- The Heptones; available on On Top (Studio One, 1968)
- Kevin Coyne; available on re-release of "Marjory Razorblade" (1973)
- The Persuasions (2:27); available on Live In The Whispering Gallery (1976)
- Iggy Pop (3:37); available on Party (1981)
- Del Shannon (2:36); available on Drop Down And Get Me (1982)
- The Honeydrippers (3:03); available on Volume One (1984)
- Shakin' Stevens (3:12) ; Available on A Whole Lotta Shaky (1988)
- Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (3:05); available on Ka 'Ano'i (1990)
- John Fahey (2:08); available on Old Girlfriends and Other Horrible Memories (1992)
- Arvingarna (2:28); available on Eloise (1993)
- The Fire Ants; available on the Stripped EP (Dekema, 1993)
- Horace Andy; available on "Wicked Dem a Burn: Best of Horace Andy" (2001)
- Cat Power (2:19); available on The Covers Record (2000)
- Robert Plant (3:04); available on Sixty Six to Timbuktu (2003)
- Tom Waits (3:43); available on Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards (2006)
- Tony Hadley (3:35); available on Passing Strangers (2006)
- Cat Power (2:23); available on Music from the Motion Picture Juno (2007)
- Jim & Shirley (3:07); Tareco 1001, B-side of 45 rpm single, Country Girl, I Miss You
- Australian singer Jason Donovan recorded the song for his album "Let It Be Me" (2008).
- German chanteuse Judith "Ribbons" Sofia records a ukelele and vocal cover to critical acclaim (2009)
[edit]U.S. chart succession
| Preceded by "Poison Ivy" by The Coasters | Billboard Hot R&B Singles number one single by Phil Phillips with the Twilights October 12-October 18, 1959 | Succeeded by "You Better Know It" by Jackie Wilson |
[edit]References
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 491.
- ^ a b Hamilton, Andrew (undated). "Phil Phillips Biography". allmusic/Macrovision Corporation. Retrieved on 2008-04-13.
- ^ Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications), page 289.
[edit]See also
Categories: American songs | 1959 songs | 1959 singles | 1984 singles | Robert Plant songs | Jimmy Velvit songs | Del Shannon songs | Iggy Pop songs | Tom Waits songs | Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs number-one singles | Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks number-one singles | Swamp pop music | Rock ballads | Rhythm and blues songs
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
The Nutritional Value of One Hard-Boiled Egg
Nutritional value
Chicken egg, whole, hard-boiledNutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 150 kcal 650 kJ
Carbohydrates
1.12 g
Fat
10.6 g
Protein
12.6 g
Water
75 g
Vitamin A equiv. 140 μg
16%
Thiamine (Vit. B1) 0.066 mg
5%
Riboflavin (Vit. B2) 0.5 mg
33%
Pantothenic acid (B5) 1.4 mg
28%
Folate (Vit. B9) 44 μg
11%
Calcium 50 mg
5%
Iron 1.2 mg
10%
Magnesium 10 mg
3%
Phosphorus 172 mg
25%
Potassium 126 mg
3%
Zinc 1.0 mg
10%
Choline
225 mg
Cholesterol
424 mg
For edible portion only. Refuse: 12% (Shell)Percentages are relative to USrecommendations for adults.Source: USDA Nutrient database
Eggs add protein to one's diet, as well as various other nutrients.
Chicken eggs are the most commonly eaten eggs.
They supply all essential amino acids for humans,[17] and provide several vitamins and minerals, including vitamin A, riboflavin, folic acid, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, choline, iron, calcium, phosphorus and potassium.
They are also an inexpensive single-food source of protein.
All of the egg's vitamin A, D and E is in the egg yolk. The egg is one of the few foods which naturally contain Vitamin D.
A large egg yolk contains approximately 60 Calories (250 kilojoules); the egg white contains about 15 Calories (60 kilojoules). A large yolk contains more than two-thirds of the recommended daily intake of 300 mg of cholesterol (although one study indicates that the human body may not absorb much cholesterol from eggs[18]).
The yolk makes up about 33% of the liquid weight of the egg. It contains all of the fat in the egg and slightly less than half of the protein and much of the nutrients. It also contains all of the choline, and one yolk contains approximately half of the recommended daily intake. Choline is an important nutrient for development of the brain, and is said to be important for pregnant and nursing women to ensure healthy fetal brain development.[19]
Recently, chicken eggs that are especially high in Omega 3 fatty acids have come on the market. These eggs are made by feeding laying hens a diet containing polyunsaturated fats and kelp meal. Nutrition information on the packaging is different for each of the brands.
Health issues of eating chicken eggs
Cholesterol and fat
More than half the calories found in eggs come from the fat in the yolk; a 100 gram chicken egg contains approximately 10 grams of fat. People on a low-cholesterol diet may need to reduce egg consumption, although only 27% of the fat in egg is saturated fat (Palmitic,Stearic and Myristic acids) that contains LDL cholesterol. The egg white consists primarily of water (87%) and protein (13%) and contains no cholesterol and little, if any, fat.
There is debate over whether egg yolk presents a health risk. Some research suggests dietary cholesterol increases the ratio of total to HDL cholesterol and, therefore, adversely affects the body's cholesterol profile;[20] whereas other studies show that moderate consumption of eggs, up to two per day, does not appear to increase heart disease risk in healthy individuals.[21] Harold McGee argues that the cholesterol in the yolk is not what causes a problem, because fat (particularly saturated) is much more likely to raise cholesterol levels than the actual consumption of cholesterol.[14] A 2007 study of nearly 10,000 adults demonstrated no correlation between moderate (6 per week) egg consumption and cardiovascular disease or strokes except in the sub-population of diabetic patients which presented an increased risk of coronary heart disease.[22] Other research supports the idea that a high egg intake increases cardiovascular risk in diabetic patients.[23] However, some "no correlation" findings have come under attack by independent observers for flawed methodology and financial ties to the egg industry.[24]
Type 2 diabetes
Consumption of eggs has been linked to an increased risk of Type 2 diabetes in both men and women. A 2008 study using data on over 50,000 individuals collected by the Physicians' Health Study I (1982-2007) and the Women's Health Study (1992-2007) determined that the “data suggests that high levels of egg consumption (daily) are associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.”[25]
Contamination
A health issue associated with eggs is contamination by pathogenic bacteria like Salmonella enteritidis. Contamination of eggs exiting a female bird via the cloaca may also occur with other members of the Salmonella group, so care must be taken to avoid the egg shell becoming contaminated with fecal matter. In commercial practice, eggs are quickly washed with a sanitizing solution within minutes of being laid. The risk of infection from raw or undercooked eggs is dependent in part upon the sanitary conditions under which the hens are kept.
Health experts advise people to refrigerate eggs, use them within two weeks, cook them thoroughly, and never consume raw eggs.[26] As with meat, containers and surfaces that have been used to process raw eggs should not come in contact with ready-to-eat food.
A study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2002 (Risk Analysis April 2002 22(2):203-18) suggests the problem is not as prevalent as once thought. It showed that of the 69 billion eggs produced annually only 2.3 million are contaminated with salmonella - equivalent to just one in every 30,000 eggs - thus showing that salmonella infection is quite rarely induced by eggs. However, this has not been the case in other countries where Salmonella enteritidis and Salmonella typhimurium infections due to egg consumptions are major concerns [27], [28], [29].
Egg shells act as hermetic seals which guard against bacteria entering, but this seal can be broken through improper handling or if laid by unhealthy chickens. Most forms of contamination enter through such weaknesses in the shell.
Food allergy
One of the most common food allergies in infants is eggs.[30] Infants usually have the opportunity to grow out of this allergy during childhood, if exposure is minimized.[citation needed] Generally, physicians will recommend feeding only the yolks to infants because of the higher risk of allergic reaction to the egg white.[citation needed]
The egg allergy is prevalent enough in the United States that food labeling practices now include eggs, egg products and the processing of foods on equipment that also process foods containing eggs in a special allergen alert section of the ingredients on the labels.
Chicken egg grading
The US Department of Agriculture grade eggs by the interior quality of the egg and the appearance and condition of the egg shell. Eggs of any quality grade may differ in weight (size).
U.S. Grade AA eggs have whites that are thick and firm; yolks that are high, round, and practically free from defects; and clean, unbroken shells. Grade AA and Grade A eggs are best for frying and poaching where appearance is important.
U.S. Grade A eggs have characteristics of Grade AA eggs except that the whites are "reasonably" firm. This is the quality most often sold in stores.
U.S. Grade B eggs have whites that may be thinner and yolks that may be wider and flatter than eggs of higher grades. The shells must be unbroken, but may show slight stains. This quality is seldom found in retail stores because they are usually used to make liquid, frozen, and dried egg products, as well as other egg-containing products.
Chicken egg sizes
Medium White Eggs in Carton
Chicken eggs are graded by size, for the purpose of sales. The United States Department of Agriculture sizing is based by weight per dozen. The most common US size of chicken egg is 'Large' and is the egg size commonly referred to for recipes. The following egg masses have been calculated on the basis of the USDA sizing:
Modern Sizes (USA)
Size
Mass per egg
Cooking Yield (Volume)[1]
Jumbo
Greater than 2.5 oz. or 71g
Very Large or Extra Large (XL)
Greater than 2.25 oz. or 64g
56 mL (4 tbsp)
Large (L)
Greater than 2 oz. or 57g
46 mL (3.25 tbsp)
Medium (M)
Greater than 1.75 oz. or 50g
43 mL (3 tbsp)
Small (S)
Greater than 1.5 oz. or 43g
Peewee
Greater than 1.25 oz. or 35g
Chicken egg, whole, hard-boiledNutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 150 kcal 650 kJ
Carbohydrates
1.12 g
Fat
10.6 g
Protein
12.6 g
Water
75 g
Vitamin A equiv. 140 μg
16%
Thiamine (Vit. B1) 0.066 mg
5%
Riboflavin (Vit. B2) 0.5 mg
33%
Pantothenic acid (B5) 1.4 mg
28%
Folate (Vit. B9) 44 μg
11%
Calcium 50 mg
5%
Iron 1.2 mg
10%
Magnesium 10 mg
3%
Phosphorus 172 mg
25%
Potassium 126 mg
3%
Zinc 1.0 mg
10%
Choline
225 mg
Cholesterol
424 mg
For edible portion only. Refuse: 12% (Shell)Percentages are relative to USrecommendations for adults.Source: USDA Nutrient database
Eggs add protein to one's diet, as well as various other nutrients.
Chicken eggs are the most commonly eaten eggs.
They supply all essential amino acids for humans,[17] and provide several vitamins and minerals, including vitamin A, riboflavin, folic acid, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, choline, iron, calcium, phosphorus and potassium.
They are also an inexpensive single-food source of protein.
All of the egg's vitamin A, D and E is in the egg yolk. The egg is one of the few foods which naturally contain Vitamin D.
A large egg yolk contains approximately 60 Calories (250 kilojoules); the egg white contains about 15 Calories (60 kilojoules). A large yolk contains more than two-thirds of the recommended daily intake of 300 mg of cholesterol (although one study indicates that the human body may not absorb much cholesterol from eggs[18]).
The yolk makes up about 33% of the liquid weight of the egg. It contains all of the fat in the egg and slightly less than half of the protein and much of the nutrients. It also contains all of the choline, and one yolk contains approximately half of the recommended daily intake. Choline is an important nutrient for development of the brain, and is said to be important for pregnant and nursing women to ensure healthy fetal brain development.[19]
Recently, chicken eggs that are especially high in Omega 3 fatty acids have come on the market. These eggs are made by feeding laying hens a diet containing polyunsaturated fats and kelp meal. Nutrition information on the packaging is different for each of the brands.
Health issues of eating chicken eggs
Cholesterol and fat
More than half the calories found in eggs come from the fat in the yolk; a 100 gram chicken egg contains approximately 10 grams of fat. People on a low-cholesterol diet may need to reduce egg consumption, although only 27% of the fat in egg is saturated fat (Palmitic,Stearic and Myristic acids) that contains LDL cholesterol. The egg white consists primarily of water (87%) and protein (13%) and contains no cholesterol and little, if any, fat.
There is debate over whether egg yolk presents a health risk. Some research suggests dietary cholesterol increases the ratio of total to HDL cholesterol and, therefore, adversely affects the body's cholesterol profile;[20] whereas other studies show that moderate consumption of eggs, up to two per day, does not appear to increase heart disease risk in healthy individuals.[21] Harold McGee argues that the cholesterol in the yolk is not what causes a problem, because fat (particularly saturated) is much more likely to raise cholesterol levels than the actual consumption of cholesterol.[14] A 2007 study of nearly 10,000 adults demonstrated no correlation between moderate (6 per week) egg consumption and cardiovascular disease or strokes except in the sub-population of diabetic patients which presented an increased risk of coronary heart disease.[22] Other research supports the idea that a high egg intake increases cardiovascular risk in diabetic patients.[23] However, some "no correlation" findings have come under attack by independent observers for flawed methodology and financial ties to the egg industry.[24]
Type 2 diabetes
Consumption of eggs has been linked to an increased risk of Type 2 diabetes in both men and women. A 2008 study using data on over 50,000 individuals collected by the Physicians' Health Study I (1982-2007) and the Women's Health Study (1992-2007) determined that the “data suggests that high levels of egg consumption (daily) are associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.”[25]
Contamination
A health issue associated with eggs is contamination by pathogenic bacteria like Salmonella enteritidis. Contamination of eggs exiting a female bird via the cloaca may also occur with other members of the Salmonella group, so care must be taken to avoid the egg shell becoming contaminated with fecal matter. In commercial practice, eggs are quickly washed with a sanitizing solution within minutes of being laid. The risk of infection from raw or undercooked eggs is dependent in part upon the sanitary conditions under which the hens are kept.
Health experts advise people to refrigerate eggs, use them within two weeks, cook them thoroughly, and never consume raw eggs.[26] As with meat, containers and surfaces that have been used to process raw eggs should not come in contact with ready-to-eat food.
A study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2002 (Risk Analysis April 2002 22(2):203-18) suggests the problem is not as prevalent as once thought. It showed that of the 69 billion eggs produced annually only 2.3 million are contaminated with salmonella - equivalent to just one in every 30,000 eggs - thus showing that salmonella infection is quite rarely induced by eggs. However, this has not been the case in other countries where Salmonella enteritidis and Salmonella typhimurium infections due to egg consumptions are major concerns [27], [28], [29].
Egg shells act as hermetic seals which guard against bacteria entering, but this seal can be broken through improper handling or if laid by unhealthy chickens. Most forms of contamination enter through such weaknesses in the shell.
Food allergy
One of the most common food allergies in infants is eggs.[30] Infants usually have the opportunity to grow out of this allergy during childhood, if exposure is minimized.[citation needed] Generally, physicians will recommend feeding only the yolks to infants because of the higher risk of allergic reaction to the egg white.[citation needed]
The egg allergy is prevalent enough in the United States that food labeling practices now include eggs, egg products and the processing of foods on equipment that also process foods containing eggs in a special allergen alert section of the ingredients on the labels.
Chicken egg grading
The US Department of Agriculture grade eggs by the interior quality of the egg and the appearance and condition of the egg shell. Eggs of any quality grade may differ in weight (size).
U.S. Grade AA eggs have whites that are thick and firm; yolks that are high, round, and practically free from defects; and clean, unbroken shells. Grade AA and Grade A eggs are best for frying and poaching where appearance is important.
U.S. Grade A eggs have characteristics of Grade AA eggs except that the whites are "reasonably" firm. This is the quality most often sold in stores.
U.S. Grade B eggs have whites that may be thinner and yolks that may be wider and flatter than eggs of higher grades. The shells must be unbroken, but may show slight stains. This quality is seldom found in retail stores because they are usually used to make liquid, frozen, and dried egg products, as well as other egg-containing products.
Chicken egg sizes
Medium White Eggs in Carton
Chicken eggs are graded by size, for the purpose of sales. The United States Department of Agriculture sizing is based by weight per dozen. The most common US size of chicken egg is 'Large' and is the egg size commonly referred to for recipes. The following egg masses have been calculated on the basis of the USDA sizing:
Modern Sizes (USA)
Size
Mass per egg
Cooking Yield (Volume)[1]
Jumbo
Greater than 2.5 oz. or 71g
Very Large or Extra Large (XL)
Greater than 2.25 oz. or 64g
56 mL (4 tbsp)
Large (L)
Greater than 2 oz. or 57g
46 mL (3.25 tbsp)
Medium (M)
Greater than 1.75 oz. or 50g
43 mL (3 tbsp)
Small (S)
Greater than 1.5 oz. or 43g
Peewee
Greater than 1.25 oz. or 35g
Monday, May 11, 2009
Why are black folks leaving San Fran?
By: Michael E. Ross
Posted: May 6, 2009 at 7:29 AM
Why Are Black Folks Leaving San Fran?
The City by the Bay moves to stop the hemorrhaging of a black population that’s been playing out for generations.
Michael R.
The City by the Bay moves to stop the hemorrhaging of a black population that’s been playing out for generations.
The City by the Bay moves to stop the hemorrhaging of a black population that’s been playing out for generations.
05/06/2009 07:29
“San Francisco is beautiful. You shouldn’t have to be upper-middle class to be a part of that.”
—Micah in Medicine for Melancholy
In April 1858, perhaps as many as 700 black settlers—about 14 percent of the blacks then living in California—began an exodus from San Francisco to Victoria, British Columbia, 750 miles north, in a bid to escape the force of the Fugitive Slave Act and other segregationist policies that presaged the coming Civil War.
For a variety of reasons, those black settlers found the city of San Francisco an inhospitable place. Now, little more than 150 years after that first migration, many black San Franciscans understand how they felt.
Today, city officials and concerned citizens are grappling with a continuing depletion of black residents in San Francisco, as many of them leave, in part, because of a wave of gentrification that’s pricing them out of the market; and partly because of a sense of cultural and social marginalization at odds with the city’s reputation for tolerance and diversity.
The decline in the population of black San Francisco has been the result of a perfect storm of social ills and social transitions. The Bay Area’s long reputation as a nexus for high technology has jacked up home prices for years, often out of the range of black and minority households; there are high crime rates, particularly in the Bayview-Hunters Point district, where many blacks reside; and a decades-long drop in black businesses has had a corrosive effect on minority entrepreneurship in the city.
Chuck Collins, president of the YMCA of San Francisco, put it more bluntly in August 2007: “Black people really don't matter in San Francisco. It's what this generation of political leadership inherited,” he told USA Today. “There's been a very uneasy truce with the black population.”
In June 2007, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and supervisor Sophie Maxwell formally launched the African American Out-Migration Task Force, charged with developing strategies to stem the latest migration of its black residents.
Almost two years later, after consulting with a range of community leaders, activists and educators, the task force’s recommendations have been vetted and forwarded to Newsom, who is reviewing them. Whatever the particulars, they’re sure to address concerns Newsom laid down shortly after the task force was formed.
In an opinion piece [1] for the San Francisco Chronicle Web site, Newsom said he wanted the task force “to focus on asset creation—to come up with strategies that help African Americans, Latinos and others create wealth by owning homes and businesses in San Francisco.”
Newsom outlined several initiatives—closer work with nonprofits, micro-loan programs focused on women and youth; and a city-funded bank program meant to help low-income residents avoid predatory check-cashing outfits—that were already underway, and which will almost certainly be a part of the task force’s proposals.
“San Francisco's strength is the fact that we don't just tolerate our diversity, we celebrate it,” Newsom wrote.
But the issue of the social and cultural cost of gentrification is hardly new in San Francisco, a city with a vivid labor history and a social activism that’s as much a trademark of the city as the Golden Gate Bridge.
To some degree, regardless of what action the city ultimately takes, the matter of reversing the black depopulation of San Francisco will likely remain hostage to several factors: the sometimes fractious relations between business and the city’s underserved communities, a battered state and national economy, and history. (Newsom’s own role in stemming the city’s black exodus is likely to change, however slightly, given the mayor’s recent announcement that he will run for California governor.)
Rev. Amos Brown put the problem and the potential solution in historical perspective. “We need a Marshall Plan,” he said, referring to the U.S. plan to aid Europe in its recovery after World War II.
In the years after that war, the Fillmore District was the hub of black commerce and culture in the city. Hailed as “Harlem of the West,” the Fillmore was home to a range of black-owned restaurants, night clubs, barbershops and beauty supply houses, markets and light industries.
But displacement started in the 1960s as the city assumed tracts of district land by eminent domain.
In 1966, the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR), a citizens and business-community action committee, wrote a manifesto, "Prologue for Action":
“If San Francisco decides to compete effectively with other cities for new ‘clean' industries and new corporate power, its population will move closer to standard white Anglo-Saxon Protestant characteristics. Selection of a population's composition might be undemocratic. Influence on it, however, is legal and desirable for the health of a city.”
According to Census Bureau estimates, the number of black people in San Francisco declined from 13.4 percent of the population in 1970 to just 6.5 percent in 2005—a drop said to be the worst percentage decline in any major American city. The actual number of black San Franciscans has dwindled to about 40,000 out of a population of roughly 809,000 people.
The task force charged with devising possible solutions got off to a slow start. A draft report of the task force findings was finished in 2008, but not in time to have an impact on that June’s election, in which voters approved the Florida-based Lennar Corporation’s plan for a $1.2 billion luxury condo development—in Bayview-Hunters Point.
Lennar spent about $5 million to rally public support last June for Proposition G, the vote on the condo development. Prop G passed with the public’s endorsement, but Lennar was forced to compromise with city labor and community organizations. The company agreed to increase the number of affordable units from the 25 percent it proposed up to 32 percent of the total, according to the San Francisco Bay Guardian [2].
But there’s affordable and there’s affordable. For the residents of Bayview-Hunters Point—with more than 50 percent unemployed and a median income of about $42,600, compared to the citywide median income of $65,500—the prospect of owning the luxury condos destined for the land they live on will be out of the question. Most Bayview-Hunters Point residents earn less than $15,900 a year.
But black San Franciscans’ sense of being outsiders has already been noted or reinforced more than once. The city’s gentrification issue reached pop culture’s radar recently with the release of the Barry Jenkins film Medicine for Melancholy [3], in which the black protagonists—San Francisco residents—wrestle with their city as an alien place.
Maybe nothing, though, reinforces that sense of alienation quite like what awaits users of the realestate.com [4] online resource for buyers and sellers of homes in California. There, on the People Summary page [5], under the category “Race Distribution,” among the words on a list of racial descriptors, you’ll find the neutering word that substitutes for “African Americans,” the word that, for many, reveals San Francisco’s true feelings about its black identity.
“Other.”
Michael E. Ross is a regular contributor to The Root.
Posted: May 6, 2009 at 7:29 AM
Why Are Black Folks Leaving San Fran?
The City by the Bay moves to stop the hemorrhaging of a black population that’s been playing out for generations.
Michael R.
The City by the Bay moves to stop the hemorrhaging of a black population that’s been playing out for generations.
The City by the Bay moves to stop the hemorrhaging of a black population that’s been playing out for generations.
05/06/2009 07:29
“San Francisco is beautiful. You shouldn’t have to be upper-middle class to be a part of that.”
—Micah in Medicine for Melancholy
In April 1858, perhaps as many as 700 black settlers—about 14 percent of the blacks then living in California—began an exodus from San Francisco to Victoria, British Columbia, 750 miles north, in a bid to escape the force of the Fugitive Slave Act and other segregationist policies that presaged the coming Civil War.
For a variety of reasons, those black settlers found the city of San Francisco an inhospitable place. Now, little more than 150 years after that first migration, many black San Franciscans understand how they felt.
Today, city officials and concerned citizens are grappling with a continuing depletion of black residents in San Francisco, as many of them leave, in part, because of a wave of gentrification that’s pricing them out of the market; and partly because of a sense of cultural and social marginalization at odds with the city’s reputation for tolerance and diversity.
The decline in the population of black San Francisco has been the result of a perfect storm of social ills and social transitions. The Bay Area’s long reputation as a nexus for high technology has jacked up home prices for years, often out of the range of black and minority households; there are high crime rates, particularly in the Bayview-Hunters Point district, where many blacks reside; and a decades-long drop in black businesses has had a corrosive effect on minority entrepreneurship in the city.
Chuck Collins, president of the YMCA of San Francisco, put it more bluntly in August 2007: “Black people really don't matter in San Francisco. It's what this generation of political leadership inherited,” he told USA Today. “There's been a very uneasy truce with the black population.”
In June 2007, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and supervisor Sophie Maxwell formally launched the African American Out-Migration Task Force, charged with developing strategies to stem the latest migration of its black residents.
Almost two years later, after consulting with a range of community leaders, activists and educators, the task force’s recommendations have been vetted and forwarded to Newsom, who is reviewing them. Whatever the particulars, they’re sure to address concerns Newsom laid down shortly after the task force was formed.
In an opinion piece [1] for the San Francisco Chronicle Web site, Newsom said he wanted the task force “to focus on asset creation—to come up with strategies that help African Americans, Latinos and others create wealth by owning homes and businesses in San Francisco.”
Newsom outlined several initiatives—closer work with nonprofits, micro-loan programs focused on women and youth; and a city-funded bank program meant to help low-income residents avoid predatory check-cashing outfits—that were already underway, and which will almost certainly be a part of the task force’s proposals.
“San Francisco's strength is the fact that we don't just tolerate our diversity, we celebrate it,” Newsom wrote.
But the issue of the social and cultural cost of gentrification is hardly new in San Francisco, a city with a vivid labor history and a social activism that’s as much a trademark of the city as the Golden Gate Bridge.
To some degree, regardless of what action the city ultimately takes, the matter of reversing the black depopulation of San Francisco will likely remain hostage to several factors: the sometimes fractious relations between business and the city’s underserved communities, a battered state and national economy, and history. (Newsom’s own role in stemming the city’s black exodus is likely to change, however slightly, given the mayor’s recent announcement that he will run for California governor.)
Rev. Amos Brown put the problem and the potential solution in historical perspective. “We need a Marshall Plan,” he said, referring to the U.S. plan to aid Europe in its recovery after World War II.
In the years after that war, the Fillmore District was the hub of black commerce and culture in the city. Hailed as “Harlem of the West,” the Fillmore was home to a range of black-owned restaurants, night clubs, barbershops and beauty supply houses, markets and light industries.
But displacement started in the 1960s as the city assumed tracts of district land by eminent domain.
In 1966, the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR), a citizens and business-community action committee, wrote a manifesto, "Prologue for Action":
“If San Francisco decides to compete effectively with other cities for new ‘clean' industries and new corporate power, its population will move closer to standard white Anglo-Saxon Protestant characteristics. Selection of a population's composition might be undemocratic. Influence on it, however, is legal and desirable for the health of a city.”
According to Census Bureau estimates, the number of black people in San Francisco declined from 13.4 percent of the population in 1970 to just 6.5 percent in 2005—a drop said to be the worst percentage decline in any major American city. The actual number of black San Franciscans has dwindled to about 40,000 out of a population of roughly 809,000 people.
The task force charged with devising possible solutions got off to a slow start. A draft report of the task force findings was finished in 2008, but not in time to have an impact on that June’s election, in which voters approved the Florida-based Lennar Corporation’s plan for a $1.2 billion luxury condo development—in Bayview-Hunters Point.
Lennar spent about $5 million to rally public support last June for Proposition G, the vote on the condo development. Prop G passed with the public’s endorsement, but Lennar was forced to compromise with city labor and community organizations. The company agreed to increase the number of affordable units from the 25 percent it proposed up to 32 percent of the total, according to the San Francisco Bay Guardian [2].
But there’s affordable and there’s affordable. For the residents of Bayview-Hunters Point—with more than 50 percent unemployed and a median income of about $42,600, compared to the citywide median income of $65,500—the prospect of owning the luxury condos destined for the land they live on will be out of the question. Most Bayview-Hunters Point residents earn less than $15,900 a year.
But black San Franciscans’ sense of being outsiders has already been noted or reinforced more than once. The city’s gentrification issue reached pop culture’s radar recently with the release of the Barry Jenkins film Medicine for Melancholy [3], in which the black protagonists—San Francisco residents—wrestle with their city as an alien place.
Maybe nothing, though, reinforces that sense of alienation quite like what awaits users of the realestate.com [4] online resource for buyers and sellers of homes in California. There, on the People Summary page [5], under the category “Race Distribution,” among the words on a list of racial descriptors, you’ll find the neutering word that substitutes for “African Americans,” the word that, for many, reveals San Francisco’s true feelings about its black identity.
“Other.”
Michael E. Ross is a regular contributor to The Root.
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