Longtime black San Francisco church faces eviction amid gentrification

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

World | Sat Feb 27, 2016 4:27am EST

Longtime black San Francisco church faces eviction amid gentrification

SAN FRANCISCO | BY CURTIS SKINNER

A long-standing and unconventional African American church in what was once the heart of San Francisco's thriving black population is just days from eviction, marking the latest example of the region's ongoing renting crisis and the city's decades-long black exodus.

The St. John Coltrane African Orthodox Church faces eviction next week from its home in the Fillmore District, a neighborhood best known for its jazz roots that in its heyday was dubbed "the Harlem of the West."

"It's the most urgent example of the push-out of the African American population right now during our housing crisis and our affordability crisis," said San Francisco Supervisor Eric Mar, who is advocating for the church in its eviction fight.

The church, founded by Archbishop Franzo King and his wife Reverend Marina King in 1971, is well known throughout the city as a place where worshippers play instruments and sing along as well as a leader in social justice movements for decades.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-sanfrancisco-church-idUSKCN0W003H

[malaise]

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