To mark Black History Month at the Tenderloin Museum, Charles Curtis Blackwell has organized an evening of poetry and jazz that features new, improvised work intertwined with a tribute to his friend and fellow poet Q.R. Hand. Presented as part of TLM’s Sounds of the TL series, Tender Musical Tapestries features Blackwell in concert with a trio of improvising musicians–Sandra Poindexter (violin), Kash Killion (cello/bass), and Donald Griggs (trumpet)--plus special guests.
Thursday February 20, 2025 | 6-7:30pm
At the Tenderloin Museum | 398 Eddy St. SF, CA 94102
Blackwell is a painter, playwright, and poet who is a pillar of the Tenderloin arts community–his visual art practice has long been centered at the Hospitality House Community Arts Program, and he has organized several “happenings” at the TL Museum that showcase his interdisciplinary approach and invite audiences into dialogue about the Black experience. Jazz often manifests in his work, whether as figurative gestures in his paintings, the rhythm of his verse, or the formal fluidity of his performances.
Hand was a virtuoso poet whose verse was infused with the spirit of jazz and imbued with Black liberation politics–a positionality he termed the “Black Radical Stance.” Originally from Brooklyn, NY, Hand moved to San Francisco in 1970 and was a fixture in the poetry cafes and Bohemian enclaves of North Beach and later the Mission District, where he lived and worked as a community health worker. What is less known is that, for a time, Hand was a resident of the Cadillac Hotel, the building in which the Tenderloin Museum is located and the first SRO to convert into what is now known as permanent supportive housing.
Blackwell and Hand performed together many times over the years and share in a lineage of Black radical jazz-inflected poetry that extends into the present. Blackwell will be joined by special guests to pay homage to the life, verse, and legacy of their friend Q, as well as to celebrate his posthumous volume, Out of Nothing, published November 2023 on Black Freighter Press. The poet, activist, and educator Tongo Eisen-Martin who, as Co-founder and Editor of Black Freighter Press, shepherded Hand’s final book into existence, describes Out of Nothing as “a Sistine Chapel of a book” and Hand as “a biographer of humanity, a really selfless genius.”
Performing poetry with live musicians has been a vital aspect to the creative practices of both Hand and Blackwell; Tender Musical Tapestries will feature three legends of the Bay Area jazz scene Sandra Poindexter (violin), Kash Killion (cello/bass), and Donald Griggs (trumpet). TLM is honored to host these superlative talents in the Tenderloin and to learn about the work and legacy of Q.R. Hand, one-time resident of the museum’s building and a titan of the SF poetry scene.
This program is made possible by support from the Specified General Fund for the Museum Grant Program under the California Cultural and Historical Endowment, with additional funding from the Tenderloin Community Benefit District & SF Office of Economic & Workforce Development.
$10 Suggested Donation | Register via Humanitix
Tenderloin Museum is honored to celebrate Black trans history with master storyteller, local luminary, advocate, artist, and “Black transgender oracle” Andrea Horne. Join us for a special Saturday afternoon program to learn about and honor a multitude of trans trailblazers, their inspiring stories, and rich contributions across time.
Saturday February 22, 2025 | 3 - 4:30pm
At the Tenderloin Museum | 398 Eddy St.
Step into a space where memory shimmers, truth reigns, and legacy refuses to be forgotten. This Black History Month, join us for an electrifying afternoon with Andrea Horne—a Black transgender oracle, artist, historian, and advocate—who embodies the brilliance, resilience, and undeniable glamor of Black transgender women's storytelling.
Through riveting conversation and masterful storytelling, Andrea will unveil lessons from her groundbreaking book series, “How Black Transgender Women Changed the World,” while offering a dazzling sneak peek at LipGloss-ary —a living, breathing archive devoted to uplifting Black Trans voices.
From defying erasure to reclaiming power, Andrea will illuminate the stories of Black transgender women who have shaped culture, fought for justice, and infused the world with unapologetic beauty. Expect deep wisdom, sharp wit, and a celebration of identity, legacy, and radical joy.
Come for the history, stay for the vision. Let’s honor our past, empower our present, and dream forward—together.
This program is made possible by support from the Tenderloin Community Benefit District, SF Office of Economic & Workforce Development, and Transgender District.
Free or Suggested Donation | Register to attend via Humanitix
Tenderloin Museum turns 10 this year, and founder Randy Shaw’s seminal neighborhood history— The Tenderloin: Sex, Crime, and Resistance in the Heart of San Francisco—has been updated through 2025. Join us in celebrating the publication of a new, updated edition of this foundational book at a public program featuring Shaw in conversation with TLM’s Executive Director Katie Conry.
At the Tenderloin Museum | 398 Eddy St. SF, CA 94102
And online via zoom (link will be sent to registered attendees)
Originally published in 2015, Randy Shaw’s The Tenderloin: Sex, Crime, and Resistance in the Heart of San Francisco offered readers a dedicated, comprehensive history of SF’s Tenderloin for the first time. Shaw’s Tenderloin considered our city’s most misunderstood and maligned neighborhood with a richly detailed and nuanced perspective that tells a powerful story of over 100 years of resistance and resilience. The book weaves together narratives of anti-establishment social movements, working class culture, and vibrant ethnic diversity–as well as the vice that earned the neighborhood its name.
The research and writing of that book dovetailed with the creation and opening of the permanent exhibit at the Tenderloin Museum, itself a culmination of Shaw and others’ decades of advocacy for the neighborhood. Now, both the book and museum are celebrating an important milestone: a 10th anniversary. San Francisco has gone through a lot since the original edition; so has the Tenderloin neighborhood. That’s why we are so excited about Randy Shaw’s new edition of his Tenderloin book that brings this vital history into the present. Shaw’s depiction of the Tenderloin as an historic center of resistance perfectly fits the current moment.
Join us on February 27th to celebrate the launch of Shaw’s 10th Anniversary Edition of The Tenderloin book for a public program featuring the author & museum founder Randy Shaw in conversation with TLM Executive Director Katie Conry.
Free or Suggested Donation | Register to attend via Humanitix
Click here learn more about the book and purchase directly– all net proceeds support TLM.
Tenderloin Museum is proud to co-present a filmmaker screening of Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton’s Cafeteria at the Roxie Theater, part of the Roxie’s 40 Years of Queer series and TLM’s 10th Anniversary programming. Post screening discussion with filmmakers Susan Stryker and Victor Silverman!
Wednesday March 19, 2025 | 6:30-8:00pm
At the Roxie Theater | 3125 16th Street SF, CA 94103
Susan Stryker and Victor Silverman’s 2005 documentary is an essential piece of cinema that has indelibly shaped both Tenderloin and Transgender history. Since day one, Screaming Queens has been central to how the Tenderloin Museum tells of our neighborhood’s story. Now, as part of our 10th Anniversary programming, TLM is co-presenting a screening of this crucial piece of documentary in its entirety with longtime collaborators and friends at the Roxie Theater, which is in the midst of showcasing 40 Years of Queercinema in a series co-curated by Lex Sloan and Jenni Olson.
Whether you’re seeing Screaming Queens for the first time or revisiting this watershed entry into LGBTQ history, this program is an epic opportunity to experience this documentary masterpiece on the big screen with the communities keeping the Compton’s riot legacy alive. TLM’s Executive Director Katie Conry will introduce the film, and both Stryker and Silverman will be present for a post-screening discussion!
Tenderloin Museum is thrilled to partner with Unspeakable Vice, “a volunteer history initiative making queer belonging accessible to everyone,” to offer a new walking tour focused on the LGBTQIA+ history in the Tenderloin and Polk Street neighborhoods.
Saturday, March 29, 2024 | 2-4 PM
Meet at the Tenderloin Museum | 398 Eddy St., SF, CA 94102
Register to attend via Humanitix | Admission to the Tenderloin Museum included with ticket
Created by downtown San Francisco resident and professor at California College of the Arts Shawn Sprockett, Unspeakable Vice began as a close look at the queer origins of San Francisco, traversing the city’s North Beach and Barbary Coast areas to trace the history through from 1770-1960. This new tour extends Sprockett’s richly detailed and craftily delivered approach to the TL and Polk Street to offer a deep dive into the emergence of LGBTQIA+ icons and movements that shaped the area from the 1960s to the 1990s.