San Francisco Fillmore District Destroyed: 'The Harlem of the West' Demolished

San Francisco's Fillmore District, a thriving Black cultural and commercial center called 'the Harlem of the West,' is targeted for urban renewal beginning in 1952 under the Western Addition redevelopment authority. Over 20 years, 4,000 households and 800 businesses are demolished, displacing approximately 20,000 residents — primarily Black and Japanese American. Jazz clubs, churches, and community institutions are destroyed. The project is denounced by community members as a deliberate strategy to remove Black residents from valuable real estate near downtown.