in our city. but it means a lot because we know that there are challenges with affordability in our city. and we know that we have to work harder and faster to get this much needed affordable housing units built. people are counting on us to make good decisions and to not allow bureaucracy to get in the way of much needed affordable housing. thank you to everyone who's joining us today because those 178 seniors and families, when they move into those units, when they're looking out those new windows, when they're cooking dinner on their new stove, can you think about how it might feel especially if you didn't have housing in the first place, if you lived in an s.r.o. and you didn't have a kitchen, can you imagine what it's going to mean to people to live right here in this beautiful, amazing community, which once consisted of darkness and a friday and is now open with all of the light

and incredible views, a place where everyone want to live in in san francisco, and they will be a part of the future of this great city. no one will be left behind as a result of this great project, so thank you to john stewart and john stewart company. thank you so much to bridge housing and cynthia, to kate, to supervisor peskin, and all the community members and the people who helped make this possible. this is truly san francisco at its best, and there is more to come. thank you all so much. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: sorry. i want to introduce john stewart, but i want to just say that i met john stewart over 20 years ago. and i used to work at treasure island, and some of you remember when that housing was empty, and it was vacated by the navy, and we have the task of rehabilitating those units

and moving formerly homeless veterans, formerly homeless families and other people of all incomes into treasure island. the partnership with john stewart company was not just a partnership that helped to rehabilitate those units, they also helped to make sure that those formerly homeless families and veterans had working utilities, and that they had coffee makers and dishes and beds and sheets and all the things that so many people may take for granted. but these were people who were starting their lives over. and the person who led that effort without being asked to do so was john stewart himself, and so ladies and gentlemen, john stewart of john stewart company. [applause] >> the mayor has been drinking early. we'll talk later. thank you so much. ed lee was once to say, i'll

keep it short because i am short. that was his big one-liner. a few comments that i really wanted to speak about, i think two or three things. first, i get a lot of questions on the piles that we're sinking into the ground at 90 feet and 60 feet. they're not impact piles as the way that have occurred at many sites. these are augering, they're very sensitive to the neighbors because they're not impact piles. there's going to be 170 of them, and they're very sensitive to the neighbors. and also, we don't want to repeat -- we got the memo on the millennium towers, and we're going to bedrock. it seemed like a good idea. also, people asked me about those cobblestones.

when we dug down 8 feet, we found shoes, elixir bottles, and we also found a whole series of red caps which said make america great again, and we're going to be selling them later to enhance our financial balance sheet on this deal. on the subject of process, i think we're particularly proud of the fact that over 4-plus, almost 5 years, we had a record number of meeting involving a myriad of local involvement, various people -- you can see authorities and housing entities that all had a stake in this thing, and they all came out, and they all spoke their piece, which i will in

closing do a few shoutouts. there is something that i would call district 3 deja vu, and i'm looking at aaron now because 17 years ago, a young supervisor along with a young mayor at the time, willie brown, started working on a project called north beach place. it's out of the -- it's off the cliff side. it's a project that has great similarity to what you see today. for those of you that are a little long in the tooth, you might remember that project. it also was affordable. it had mixed income, mixed use, and mixed age. we have, too, so there. and one of the things that strikes me about it, aaron peskin, i think really made a

statement because he was boots on the ground, went to every meeting, very supportive of that project as he was then and he is now. it's my pleasure to introduce the supervisor. [applause] >> supervisor peskin: mayor breed, ms. parker, mr. stewart, to your respective organization, but most importantly to the community and amongst those and first and foremost amongst those, the barbary coast neighbors. it is true almost 20 years ago that i attended all of those meetings at north beach place, but thankfully, i attended few if any in this particular project. but mr. cantor did, miss taylor did, and i want to say they made it a better project.

this neighborhood involvement made this a better project. let me say a few words about what my mayor said, and it is the history of the embarcadero freeway which was, by all accounts, a terrible urban planning mistake. and then, in 1989, after the loma prieta earthquake, we had a mayor who had the courage to rip that thing down. and by the time then-state senator quentin kopp transferred the property to the city for one american dollar, willie brown was mayor. and there was a little neighborhood fight about what we were going to do with those parcels. one was going to be a police station, one was going to be a butterfly museum, one was going

to be affordable housing. i am pleased to say that today, they are all affordable housing for the city and county of san francisco. that is remarkable. [applause] >> supervisor peskin: now, it is true that i wanted this site, even though my friends at the barbary coast neighbors disagreed, i wanted this to be a temporary navigation site. but the mayor and i and supervisor haney have teamed up to find one not so far away. and i also want to agree with the mayor that affordable housing is actually not that affordable, and we all know the numbers that we just saw, the homeless count. and it's just not san francisco, it's portland, seattle, and los angeles, continue to rise. so here are 53 units that are going to keep some of my seniors -- and this is the district that has the highest percentage of seniors in the

city and county of san francisco from being homeless. but you know what? it's not affordable to many of our seniors, which is precisely why miss hartley, mayor breed, president yee and i teamed up to create what we called s.o.s., senior operating subsidies which is in this year's budget for shallow subsidies for seniors so they can actually continue to live and age in place. this is a great day for the city and county of san francisco, one and all, particularly to the workers who are building this thing. congratulations. [applause] >> a . >> supervisor peskin: all right. this is a weird jurisdictional thing, because you think the owner is the city and county of

san francisco, but it is the port and held in trust by the city and county of san francisco and lands owned by the public works. now weirdly enough, the port land is inland, and the public works land is closer to the water, which i've never figured out. but instrumental to this entire project was the port of the city and county of san francisco, their executive director, miss elaine forbes. >> hello, everyone. it's very great to be here today. we all love a ground breaking. as you all know, the port manages 7.5 miles of waterfront property. our future is very brite since the loma prieta freeway came down, but nothing makes us

prouder than to welcome the neighbors and residents who will come to enjoy this community. we are proud to announce what will be a solution to the affordable housing crisis. i want to acknowledge, and supervisor peskin knows this very well, it takes the port quite a long time to figure out what to do with its property, and 88 broadway was a very long conversation. and actually, it was the community residents that said they would like to use -- we would like to use these underused lots that you're using for parking. so tom ammiano provided us a bill to be able to use this for housing. here is another example where we can welcome low, mod, seniors, and formerly homeless

housing to our waterfront. for us, the northeast waterfront advisory group helped us provide standards for 88 broadway. it was a very patient process, and it did improve the project. it's that kind of collaboration, that kind of problem solving that got us here today. there's a lot of port staffers in the audience that have been working here for sometime. thank you so much, and i'd like to introduce liz minnick from the bank of america. [applause] >> good afternoon, everyone, and what a glorious afternoon we have for this fabulous day today. bank of america was founded in this very city in 1904 and has a long history of helping people get in homes and working towards affordable housing. from the work after the 1906 earthquake to the recent work with the san francisco r.a.v. commission and the

rehabilitation of -- sorry. we'll let the coast guard get back. -- 29 properties for which we financed over $2.2 billion. for these two properties that we are discussing today, bank of america has provided over $133 million in financing. first, thank you to all of our bank of mercteams to continue their efforts on -- america teams to continue their efforts on helping to provide housing. and now, i will introduce brynna cantor. [applause]

>> good afternoon. we were involved in the long process of the design of this building. it's just incredible that we're going to see more family and senior housing here, which is really important to keep our city diverse. we certainly need more of them. it also includes a child care facility, so that's why i have my daughter here, simone, who has become a conoisseur of all the child care facilities in the city. since this center is going to have a playground, i think she's going to want to check that out, right, simone? >> mm-hmm. >> thanks to the mayor's office of housing and all the great inclusive bidding that we had during this process, and of course, john stewart's wonderful team, including us along every step of the way. had countless meetings. our supervisor, aaron peskin,

and the previous supervisor, julie christiansen, who really got the project going for us. again, just really impressed with the outreach from the community stages of the project. the team reacted to community concerns along the way and modified the project to a very mature building which you see on these drawings here today. in particular, we're really impressed with the ground level uses for the community, the services, retail, etc., that -- that activate the street. this was a great example of how our project should happen. so you think that's good? >> yes. >> so i'll keep it here with introducing one of our barbary coast representatives, bob hauer. >> thank you, bruno.

good afternoon, everybody. i know it's hot, so i'll try to be as brief as i possible can. first of all, i want to say on behalf of the barbary coast neighborhood association, i'm very happy to be here today as this project starts to take almost a concrete step forward to bring some badly needed housing to san francisco. and i also want to express my sincere appreciation to the port and the mayor's office of housing for all the opportunities that they gave to listen to the neighborhood and to work with us and to resolve -- well, not resolve, but to work with us to help design a project that really will work for the neighborhood. i think there were many, many discussions and meetings and a number of outcomes that are very positive. two i'd like to mention in particular. first of all, if we look at the residents, not only will this

housing unit have room and units designated for the formerly homeless and low-income, but it will also have units for the middle-income households. and this is a first in san francisco, and it's my understanding that this'll be the first large multifamily unit for affordable housing that will have units for the middle-income households, and i think everybody should be aware of the shrinking population that we have of the middle-income population in this town. secondly, i think the development of the ground floor is another real positive outcome. rather than having a large parking garage that wouldn't add to the ambiance of the neighborhood, we have a

location for child care for the children. all of this will serve to activate the neighborhood further. i think it will create a much more pleasant experience along this area of broadway. and then finally, i want to mention the -- certainly our appreciation to the john stewart company and bridge housing. the design is attractive. they've gone through a number of extra measures to make sure it's not a boring, institutional structure, and i certainly appreciate all the different opportunities that they have provided to -- for the neighborhood to get some input. so with that, i'll just close by saying i think this project is a tremendous asset, will be a tremendous asset to the neighborhood, and it will make this stretch of broadway even more inviting. and so with that, i am done, and i will let john stewart handle the closing of this ceremony.

thank you. [applause] >> thank you. i have to add one codicil to what's been said. we observe neighborhood reactions to the concept of formerly homeless, and they run screaming from the run. there's a lack of opposition. on this project, there's six entities that reviewed all of -- all of our designs and plans and our sociology. not once did i hear anybody say oh, wow, you're going to have formerly homeless? there'll be 37 formerly homeless? that to me was a first. and also, i think they liked the idea of combining the two. that hybrid between formerly homeless making general assistance 30% of a.m.i. and people making $10,000 a month will be a grant interesting social experiment that we as a

company have not tried before, and i'm sure our supervisor will be making many calls to us. in fact, i can hear you now, aaron. his battery has gone dead. i will quickly say there were a few other stars in the community. i just want to give a quick shoutout to ed -- stan hayes. janet, barbara, janice, and ken. the fabric of this neighborhood's going to change with the additional units. architect, l.m.s. bill letty, aaron thorton were

in every one of the public meetings that we had over four years. they'll bore you to death talking about quotes, but they're really nice people at heart. lenders, b of a, and the woman with the money, kate hartley. thank you, and thank you. the contractor, what can you say? cahill happened to be the contractor 17 years ago at north beach place. actually, i think howard carlson was one of the supervisors then, and he still is, so that's what i call good employee retention. we have alex shafer, don brooks, and of course, chuck pele is one of our stars. he's fantastic. and the port, we've already done that, elaine forbes. mickey tuzanni and michael martin.

gail gilman and victor makras are on the commission, and they're here today, and thank you for attending. cindy's staff are what we call our intrepids. thank you, mayor breed, for causing them to be so totally active. i would start with kate hartley, kudos to you. you were with this thing from the beginning. we appreciate it. you've got a great team. luther from social services, cushman and wakefield are all going to be contributors to this. we do have a cafe and a restaurant going in here, and you're all expected to come and be big tippers when we open up

that resurant. bridge side, and i have to say, i'm looking at cynthia, marie tabor, give her a raise. she paid me to just say that. you owe me, marie, and in our office, several people have dedicated a large part of their lives to this. lastly, there are some empty chairs who represent back in the day. olson lee, we'll have the cobblestones along with the make america great caps.

last, mayor ed lee. he loved this project. i remember talking to him about this the week before he left us, and he loved this. what a fantastic legacy for you to carry on, and don't think we forget about it, supervisor peskin. so with that, i stand between you and a free lunch, and there is one occasionally, so we are now going to do the ground breaking. somebody needs to get a shovel, and we need some earth. we'll do that, and then, we'll all get a free lunch. thank you very much, everybody, for coming. >> the hon. london breed: five, four, three, two, one. >> all right. get to work! .

>> working for the city and county of san francisco will immerse you in a vibrate and dynamic city on sfroert of the art and social change we've been on the edge after all we're at the meeting of land and sea world-class style it is the burn of blew jeans where the rock holds court over the harbor the city's information technology xoflz work on the rulers project for free wifi and developing projects and insuring

patient state of at san francisco general hospital our it professionals make guilty or innocent available and support the house/senate regional wear-out system your our employees joy excessive salaries but working for the city and county of san francisco give us employees the unities to contribute their ideas and energy and commitment to shape the city's future but for considering a career with the city and county of san franci. >> mayor breed: thank you all so mu. >> thank you so much for joining us today. i'm sheryl davis the executive

director of the san francisco human rights commission and thank thankful to have you in the in this space. the hrc was created in 1964. at the time, mayor john she will she wi dg she willy was responding to local and national organizations confronting what we walike to cl at this point in time anti- blackness, really wanting to ground the fact -- people are always telling me this and it's not something that i'm very comfortable talking about, but that the sthian francisco human rights commission was created because there were people that were trying to buy cars that weren't allowed to buy them in this city, and those people were black people. sometimes as we do this work, i would say african-american afri s and peopblack ipeople in san francisco felt like we were continuing to forget about them and continuing to repeat bwhy te commission was created in the

first place. so as we secelebrate the 55th anniversary of the human rights commission, as we remember the 5 55th anniversary of the civil rights act, i was challenged and really encouraged to revisit why the human rights commission was created and to pause during this time. somebody says, who selcelebrats5 years? i guess we do. [ applause ]. >> it is an off year, but i'm going into my third year at the human rights commission and i felt like this was a good tooim to pause and recognize the intention to call out whaen so often i'm in community to call out to recognize. i'm really grateful at this point in time to have an amazing a administration and leadership that is creating programming that is inclusive and is focused on creating opportunity ies for everyone, creating a space for

everyone and being very intention intention al about that. i'm grateful to be in this work with our mayor, london bried breed. [ applause ], who as an afric - african-american woman who grew up in san francisco thouknow s firsthand what it's like to be black 234 in san francisco. i'm sure she's seen the last black man in san francisco more times than anyone seated here and knows people ooe's fear s ot becoming a reality. i know she's offikay having thi conversation and okay in this space and that she not only has lived that experience, but is trying to make sure the experience is for the future having been part of the task force formed years years ago, but being committed to make sure that everythione is counted and represented and secelebrated. so thank you so much, mayor london breed. [ applause ].

>> all right. thank you so much for coming and thank you for your patience in starting this event. first of all , i want to really thank sheryl davis for her leadership and her advocacy and for her fight for inclusiveness and making sure that no san francisco an is left out. the investments and work that we're doing with the human rights commission in san francisco has been an example for the rest of the world to follow, and i am so proud and tha thankful to all the commissioner s who are joining us here today sitting in the front row smiling because they love and they do. thank you so much for being here to secelebrate 55 years of the human rights commission in the city and county of san franci o francisco. [ applause ]. >> mayor breed: yes, there is much to secelebrate.

sheryl mentioned the out app migration task force that was started ten years ago. we were secelebrating ten yearsf the out appmigration report, bu what was not mentioned was the fact that i along with a few other folks on the redevelopment agency commission felt it was important to do something more than talk about the challenges that so many people in the afternoon-ameri -- african-amer community face and we can't be afraid to have those discussion s. the fact is when you look at the data and see what has happened over the years, specifically to the african-american community in san francisco, we know that we still have more work to do. when you look at the fact that sadly so many of our afric african-american boys are drippi dropping out of high school, so many sadly ending up dead or in

prison, this is not a new conversation. there needs to be new solutios s to address this issue, and this is why i'm excited about the work that is happening at the human rights commission. also, in looking at what's happening all over the country and now how in particular sadly we have a president that has taken us back 60 years, that's taken us back with a lot of his homophopic policy ies, his poli s that have really attacked our i mmigrant community and the needs need for the human rights commission is so important now more than ever to make sure that we stand together, that we support one another, that we push forward the kinds of policy s, and we analyze those policies and make sure that they work for the communities that they're intended to work for. i am so decidexcited about whate

going to be doing in the future in this city and in particular i want to take this communiopport and sheryl will tell you a little bit about some of the secelebration s that are going be occurring and some of the great things that we're going to be doing to highlight the work, but i want to take this opportunity to make a special announcement because we are taking things a step further. currently we are going to hire for the human rights commission ms. felisha jones who will help connect apartments -- [ applause ]. >> mayor breed: and -- review the recommendation of the out migration report and hold this city's feet to the fire a. she's onnibeen doing it with gr initiatives, whether working with s cvmenfiu, the locoalitio justice for mario woods and all

the amazing work that she has been doing to hold the city accountable to do right by not just our african-american community, but people who oft oftentimes feel neglected, we're excited and happy to have you in this work. thank y thank you so much, felisha f, f joining us. [ applause ]. >> mayor breed: you really take an therapeutic thunt conscience -- thuopportunity to reflect, we have come very far. i mean, i the first african-american woman elected to serve as mayor of san francisco are -- [ applause ]. >> mayor breed: -- our fire chief, the first lgbt fire chief in this in the history of our city, gentlemjanine nicol soson. we have so many members of our board of supervisors and you'll thank them soon, norm entan yee sandy few er, two in ceecredibl

leaders who actually grew up in san francisco, went to public schools in san francisco, served on the school board in san francisco, and still doing the hard work for the residents of san francisco. so we have a lot of work to do. 55 years is just really about hopi opening peoples' eyes to knowing what we need to do i'm grateful for susan christian sson and ma keller and others who serve on the commission because they really care about getting the job done, they really care about not just equity in about how you talk about it, but what our small business community. thank you, nicky for being here. there are three generations continuing to support and feed people in the community. [ applause ]. >> mayor breed: our business community, what's happening in our public schools, what's happening in our cityies, and

making sure that our programs serve various populations is something critical to the needs of making sure that we are a more equitable and inclusive city. i lastly want to point out and thank supervisor few er and supervisor valley-brown for their leadership in establishing the office of equity, to really dig deep into the dis pparity i that continue to exist despite despi all the investments that we ma e make, despite all the programs that we continue to fund. why is there continuing to be dis pparity in particular communities that make it difficult for so many wonderful people throughout our city to succeed. before i bring up the next speaker, i just want to take this opportunity to talk about quickly policy and how policy

has made a difference. neighborhood preference. some of you remember that fight several years ago, and amelia ashley war from the sun report er knows this city all too well and building affordable housing and the challenges with making sure -- especially african-american in those communities have access to those affordable housing units . we passed neighborhood preference legislation so that 40% of the units built in a community go to the people who live in that community. what is now kennedy apartments where we built 98 new units for seniors, typically we would be lucky to have maybe a few african-americans who are housihoused there and today we have 29 african-americans that made it through the neighborhood proc s process -- the neighborhood

preference process are and are now housed in will by kennedy apartments. yes, we have people of diverse races in that property, and the point is if we are truly going to be the best city in the wo d world, if we are going to truly be what everyone talks about in terms of diversity, in terms of inclusiveness, in terms of all these great things, we have to make the right decision. we have to make the right investment. we have to be on the same page and know that if one person is suffering over here, then it's all of our responsibility to lift that person up. that's what i learned from my grandmother, ms. brown, oxygwhee didn't have much, she still took that government food and cheese and she still would not turn anyone away from our door when they were hungry. that is what san francisco is about. we have work to get to a better

place, but in secelebrating thi in cecredible milestone with alf these in cecredible leaders wits and serving san francisco, i know we'll get there soon er rather than later. thank you all so much for being here. with that, i want to bring up the supervisor from district 5, supervisor valley-brown. >> thank you, mayor breed. i really appreciate this and all of the supervisors that are here today and president yee and the community. for me it really starts with the community when we're discussing these issues. i'm so proud to see the legacy of the human rights commission evolve over the last 55 years. and hope fulfully there will be another 55 years that it cawill we keep moving forward.

this keweek i feel even more p d proud, this week and tomorrow at the board of supervisor's meeting, supervisor few er and y ground-breaking legislation will create san francisco's first equity -- racial equity office will be realized. this office will build on the work and legacy of the human rights commission. this legislation is a powerful start to break down years of structural and institution enal racism. i want to tell the community we will work together, we will acknowledge and address our past harm, for more of a hopeful future. we need better policyies and f d funding to combat racial dis r disparityies in housing, healthcare, education, tr transportation and employment we need to continue the fight for equity, to make sure that our

black, latin, native americans, asian and pacific island er s, d all the communityies list eed t i list ed have what they need t be successful. now, i want to pass this off to my partner sandra few er with this legislation to say a few words. thank you. [ applause ]. >> thank you very much it is on only fitting that our legislation to establish an office of racial equity is being voted on at the board board of supervisors during the same week we secelebrate the in ceecredi - 55-year legacy of the human rights commission in san francisco, founded in 1964, to address anti- blablack racism, human rights commission has done important work to address the needs of margin ental alized communities in san francisco. with this new office of racial equity that will be housed under hrc, there is a renewed focus on

racial equity and addressing s dispar ityies facing communityi of color in a range of color areas - s, including economic security, housing, health, criminal justice, and more. our legislation will require a city-wide racial equity plan withoutcomes identified and a tool of racial equity analysis at t pending legislation on tat the d of supervisior s. it is long past due that san francisco's renews its commitment to civil rights and racial equity and this anniversary is a reminder of the importance of making that commitment real. the new office of racial equity under hrc will help hold us accountable as a city to ensure that we are snaefiaddressing ra dis pparity ies for communities color and making sure that everyone in san francisco has an equitable opportunity to thrive.

thank you to the human rights commission for all your work in the past, present, and future and con grgratulation s. [ applause ]. >> thank you, supervisor few er and i just also want to take this opportunity, we have planning commissioner melgar who is with us, we have michael p a papas and rita simal. thank y thank you so much for bookiein e here. daryl, i feel you're on a commission but i don't know. you guys have to bear with me because i don't know everyone who is on what circumcisiommiss you never know. i also want to take this opportunity to recognize someone who i'm actually going to be swearing in after i think this particular event, a new commissioner for the human rights commission, thank you so much james deluca for being with us here. [ applause ].

>> mayor breed: with that i'd like to introduce the supervisor from district 10, supervisor walton. >> supervisor walton: good afternoon. let's give it up for 55 years of the human rights commission. [ applause ] you . >> supervisor walton: you know, i've been given two minutes to talk about the unfinished agenda for black folks in san franci o francisco. that unfinished agenda actually goes back a couple of hundred of years. it goes back to slavery, it goe s back to reconstruction, it goes back to csegregation perio here in this country and what was supposed to change and happeni happen after brown versus board of education. it definitely goes back to major reports that we've had right here in our own city, the u unfinished agenda and the o outmigraines report, awhich a lt

of folks in this audience some in the back have worked on at this point a couple of decades now to make sure that the wrong s that have happened to us in this city, and in particular people of color, people in the lgbt community, i mmigrant s, a people who have had a different starting point than a lot of other folks here in this city and country. with that said, it is an exci exciting time for us because we have policy ies in place now tt are focused on putting actual resources in to addressing the things that have been promised from reports. programs like black to the future that provide resources for organizations that serve black familyies to be able to work together more seam lelessl programs like road map to peace, where we're bringing the organizations and community and the latino community together,

where they get to set their own agenda for the policyies needed to improve the lives of latinos here in san francisco. the resources that we put in the budget for the lgbt community and for resources for transition al youth and housing for all communities here in san francisco. so we know that un employmeempl exists differently for those populations that i mentioned. we know that housing is different and created differently for those population s that i mentioned. we know that our mayor has done an amazing job even as a member of the board of supervisors to pass legislation like neighborhood preference to make sure that housing outcomes end up different. and this 600 million housing bond that we're all fighting for is a big piece of how we deal with equity here in san francisco as well.

so i just want to thank fur our mayor, colleagues on the board of supervisors. i definitely want to give a major shout out to the executive director of the human rights commission, ms. sheryl davis for all of her work. [ applause ]. >> supervisor walton: that did not start as a result of her serving as executive director of the human rights commission, but it started years prior to that in her work. so i just want everybody to know that we have work togeth do. we have work to do. but the office of racial equity and what it will require from departments to get busy, to put reports together that will be attached to the resources that you receive, if we don't make a real effort to provide better outcomes for heour communities here in this city. thank you so much and, again, happy 55 years to the human rights commission. [ applause ].

>> so again thank you to all of our previous speakers. i want to as we get ready -- there are two final speakers that we want to have and as we do that, just recognizing that once -- that we do this work with our commission, and i wanted to recognize the commissioners that are here with us today. the chair of the human rights commission, susan christian, our new eest addition to the commission, james deluca, commissioner karen clopton, chirg cirg commissioner jason pelegrinni. thank you so much for being here today. and commissioner anton is joining us as well. our commissioners do this work and they help advance it and i wanted to just be able to show the impact of the work and our form er commissioner michael p a papas, when we talk about this work, we cannot talk about it without the intersection ality f race and gender and orientation and social-economic levels.

so commissioner papas supported us, was an amazing member of the commission, and i just wanted to afford him a couple of minutes to say something about the work that he started at the commission that he's now continuing to work on i was going to say with the department of aging and adult service s, bt i know there's a pending name change. commissioner papas. >> thank you, director davis. i am grateful for this invitation to address you today on occasion of the 55th anniversary of the san francisco human rights commission. i was privileged to serve on the commission for over six years. as one of mayor lee's very first appointments in 2011 and his very last appointment to the commission commission on ages and adult

services just a few day s befor he passed away. they were exciting years to be addressing issues of human rights in our city. during that time we saw the p d pendulum swing on some very serious and pronounced issues from prop aid to marriage equ equality and simultaneously from a did he haevastating recession prosperous tech boom. as add to that the increase in the outmigraines of the african-american community and an emerging black lives matter movement and local instances that prompted justified voluntevocal concern over law enforcement's excessive use of force. throughout this journey in time, the human rights commission was present and relevant in its response to issues of discrimination and the cl collateral human rights challenges that en ssued due to these social changes. for me personally, perhaps the

most re wawarding dimension of t service quus was following in the steps of commissioner s knu sen, swapark s, young as chair the lgbt's advisory committee which in the very yenniend i sh with commissioner kelleher. during that period i was privileged to work with some of the most bright and passionate lgbt community leaders in our city. together we addressed issues ranging from repairative therap to sensitivity to lgbt clients in city shelters, economic wel wellness, em powpowerment, dis e displacement of lgbt non -profi s, hiv prevention as well as services to and the stigma suffered by those living with hiv, the particular challenges of trans women of color, the lgbt life beyond the neighborhood of the kcastro. the special needs of lgbt, deaf

and dis ababled persons, immigration concerns, most especially those seeking asylum, the nuance s of bisexuality and the ever-evolving understanding of lgbt familyies, the need to e revise city forms to better reflect gender identity, and concern for cyber bulbullying o lgbt youth as well as our city's gr growing lgbt youth home leless population. perhaps the most impactful contribution over our time was an effort in cubated under commissioner knutsen's tenure as cha compare a chair and birth of my service at the a cvmec. that was a group that recomme recommended the formation -- [ cheering and applause ]. >> they know the punch line. of this lgbt's senior's task force. thanks to the leadership of supervisors wooe s weaiener, ca

and owen, the board of supervisors allocated the necessary funding to make that recommendation a reality. iron ically commissioner knutse and i sit together on a board where we vote regular regularly for funding of programs that respond to the lgbt seniors task force. now we are in new times and a different era. as human rights are fright ening frighteningly and incessantly under attack daily, never has the rechlevance for the san francisco human rights commission been so valued and needed. i am confident under the insp e inspired leadership of mayor breed, chair christian, and director davis, that the commission will continue to distinguish san francisco as a moral campus compass and protective voice for all who suffered discrimination and whose rights, both civil and

human, are unfairly jeopardized. with that, i wish a happy 55th anniversary to the san francisco human rights commission and the commissioners, to the chair, to the director and to our mayor and members of the board of supervisors. [ applause ]. >> just by way of the future of the human rights commission and the he haevolution thiand ithis discussion around intersectionality, i thought it really fitting to have gineta t johnson share more about the work she's doing and the importance now more than ever about the work of the human rights commission, ginetta. [ applause ]. >> hello, everyone. thank you all. i wanted to say thank you to mayor london bried breed, thank you to the board of supervisos s and sheryl davis.

i am the executive director and we work with black trans women coming out of jail s and prison black trans, agennon agendgend m conforming people coming out of prisons. the reason the work is so important and i'm passionate about it, i'm a form erly in k s incarcerated person and i spent time in jail and prison. during my time in jail for 13 months, i noticed that there was so many black trans women like in and out of jail. during my period of time, i knew that i had made a bad decision and i knew that i was going to get back out eventually and i knew that i needed to create a change. that's when we developed our r re-entry program for non -binar people coming out of jails and prison.

we are working through the support of the hrc in providing employment opportunityies for trans people coming out of jails and prisons. i think that one of the biggest issues that i have faced is housing. it's very, very challenging for me to employ them and they have no housing because the housing is so difficult and t in the cid county of san francisco. i think going to a lot of different hfa meetings trying to make a request that whmen tran people come out of jails and prisons, they have a more immediate access to some a cotyf comfortable bed space because a lot of people don't know that trans people experience a lot of sexual trauma while on the inside and physical trauma. so i'm happy and grateful that we have an opportunity to create this employment structure and

that our homes for trans people is happening i thi. i thank everybody that's been involved and making that happen because black trans women face a lot more dis pparity than peopl really, really understand, a lot of discrimination and stuff like that. tho that's why re we are doing the best that we can to create more opportunityies for their safety and welfare. so i just want to thiank everybody here that contributs s in this work. thank you. [ applause ]. >> so as we prepare to kiclose t out, i just want to invite up the chair of the human rights commission to come and say a few words, and then just to also share very quickly the calendar that we have for this week. this evening we have a conversation with cornell west

at the commonwealth club. tomorrow we have a sim pymposiu 12 to 5 at the war memorial. on wednesday evening, 6:00 at the stf jass jazz center we wil te secelebrate 55 year s, recognii some of our leaders and having a little bit of music. then on thursday, the young people part of mayor bried -- breed's opportunity for all will share their presentations at the pal aace of art s. if you have additional questio questions, please feel free to talk to us or ask questions. i also want to recognize a form er director of the commission, mayor vic ban mba. he served as the executive director of the human rights commission and is now a proud support er he eer during her wo clark construction. final words from our shachair sn christian. [ applause ]. >> thank you, director davis,

form er commissioner davis. i had the privilege of working with sheryl for several years as commissioners on the human rights commission before we convinced her to take on in -- this role that we are thrilled she is in and has done so much for the city that she has been appointed to be the executive director. one of the things i appreciate most about sheryl's work is -- you know, 55 years human rights commission started to deal with ant anti- blablack discrimination ie city. what we found ourselfves at 50 years looking at the same problems, maybe in just a slightly different way, happening to black people in the city and people who are otherwise dis advantaadvantaged, but particularly black people in the city, black communityies continuing to suffer the same kinds of discrimination. so clearly the question and the issue of structural in equequal and structural discrimination has not been screfdressed addr

in a way that impacts and prevents this kind of dis advantage. that has been my passion, my -- the thing that i want to really tie try and accomplish during my time on the commission and as chair of the commission to look for ways -- and the mayor talked about programs that work that provide outcomes, looking for what ways that we can interrupt and address structural problems so that we don't continue to rep i replicate the in equequality. you know, the human rights commission over the last at least teb ten years ago i think has been -- the commission itself and the people who have worked on the advisory committee s have made major contributios s to not only the city but national conversation about national in equequality. the lgbt and lgbtq right now, i don't know that we've officially chang changed the name, the liègeq