Tenderloin Blackness
Gallery Show On View 8/1/24 - 11/2/24
Opening Reception & Program on Thursday August 1, 2024 | 5-7pm
Del Seymour explores what it means to be Black in the TL with a celebratory and dynamic exhibition, Tenderloin Blackness, intended to, in his words, “encourage people to feel proud to be in this neighborhood, and to say we've been here, we're here, and we're going to be here.”
Tenderloin Blackness is an exhibition organized by Del Seymour--with Shavonne Allen, the Tenderloin Museum, and others–that highlights the Black community: people who are proud to be Black and proud of the Tenderloin. Guided by Seymour & his decades long relationship with the TL, this celebratory and dynamic project witnesses and elevates the Black community in the Tenderloin–a community that is as significant and essential to the neighborhood as its individual members are varied in lived experience and social role. In Seymour’s words Tenderloin Blackness “encourages people to feel proud to be in this neighborhood, and to say we've been here, we're here, and we're going to be here.”
Tenderloin Blackness highlights the multitudes of the Black community by featuring Black individuals who comprise it and whose lives are intertwined with the neighborhood: a series of banner displays highlight some names who you may know–celebrated “fathers” of the TL like Rev. Cecil Williams and Leroy Looper–alongside present day activists, artists, leaders, workers, community members, residents etc. Tenderloin Blackness acknowledges Black folks in the Tenderloin for the remarkable individuals that we are, whoever we are. It’s an incomplete survey, but one that invites YOUR story, to shape the meaning of “Tenderloin Blackness,” and to contribute to the history of our city. Tenderloin Blackness begins at the Tenderloin Museum, but will move and grow throughout San Francisco’s places of arts, culture, history, and community.
For this exhibit, the community profiles are complemented by a selection of artworks, such as paintings by Charles Curtis Blackwell, Sylvester Guard Jr., Craig Lasha, Lord Frederick, an excerpt of the Tenderloin Community Quilt organized by Mattie Loyce, and Seymour’s personal collection of African artifacts, as well as archival material from GLIDE and the Looper family.
An opening reception and public program will be held at the Tenderloin Museum on Thursday, August 1st, 2024 from 5-7pm (aligned with the TL’s monthly “SF FIrst Thursday Art Walk”). The event is free and open to the public, and will feature remarks and a discussion with folks featured in Tenderloin Blackness, as well as free food & drink catered by GLIDE. Join us for this celebration!
Tenderloin Blackness is part of “Black History and Culture in the Tenderloin,” one of twenty-one projects created from the Tenderloin Community Action Planning (TCAP): a neighborhood-driven collaboration between residents, community organizations, businesses, non-profit partners, led by San Francisco Planning in close coordination with many other City agencies.The implementation of these projects is made possible by interagency and cross-sector collaboration that includes San Francisco Planning, Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development, Office of Economic Workforce Development, Department of Public Health, Human Services Agency, United Way Bay Area, as well as community leaders and entrepreneurs in the TL. Learn more about TCAP via this link or at sfplanning.org
About Del Seymour:
A veteran and compassionate neighbor, Del Seymour has been a member of the Tenderloin community for the past 30 years. He is a leader in the neighborhood, working closely with Glide Memorial Church, St. Anthony’s, and Swords to Plowshares. He is also co-chair of San Francisco's Local Homeless Coordinating Board and has an appointed position with the St.Francis TL HIP Board. This whole endeavor began eighteen years ago when Del founded Tenderloin Walking Tours in order to “present the Tenderloin in a favorable setting.” In 2015, he founded Code Tenderloin to address the economic inequality he saw in his beloved neighborhood.
About Shavonne Allen:
A proud San Francisco native, Shavonne Allen is a community performing artist and social justice activist. She is a lead artist in the Tenderloin-based SKYWATCHERS ensemble, and she works with Code Tenderloin, TL/Mid-Market Walking Tours, and the Tenderloin Museum. Her family was displaced by urban renewal, and she lived in several neighborhoods across the city while attending school. After a series of life-altering events that included struggles with domestic violence, substance abuse, and homelessness, Shavonne has been clean for several years and works in the Tenderloin, where she is an agent of real change and a pillar of the Tenderloin community.