Several dozen friends and neighbors gathered on Broad Street in front of Dream Team to celebrate and spotlight the neighborhood and its small businesses as part of the Walk the Block event series.
Organized by the nonprofit SF Hip Hop, which previously held walks in the Bayview and the Fillmore, the purpose of the gatherings is to elevate the Black community's culture and resilience.
The Lakeview edition kicked off with several longtime residents giving short talks about the neighborhood's history, and how much has changed in the area slowly gentrifies and families and residents are squeezed out.
"The '80s and '90s were the best time to grow up here," said Tinisch Hollins as she described how influential her elders were then. She rattled off long-gone businesses such as Will Reno's barbershop and a fish fry shop.
Hollins, who co-founded SF Black Wall Street, also lamented the general lack of investment the city has made in the area. She then brought spirits back up by shouting out Dream Team owner Donald "Paypa Boy" Andrews for helping out in the neighborhood and the importance of groups like Inner City Youth, that have long been working to help keep kids off the streets and teach them valuable life lessons.
The group walked to the nonprofit Inner City Youth's office where staff gave a tour and spoke about their work providing job training and other services. Afterward, the group ambled over to Ocean View Park for food and drinks supplied by local establishments like The M Stop sandwich shop.
Russ Gatewood, who grew up nearby and founded The World Famous Show, told the crowd the event was a good opportunity for some of the area's newer residents to learn the neighborhood's history.
Lloyd Lacy Jr., who's operated a barbershop at the corner of Plymouth Avenue and Broad Street for decades, gave a brief speech highlighting how Covid changed the area.
"It's calmer now, but there's not as much foot traffic," Lacy said. His shop is under consideration to become a San Francisco Legacy Business.
Donald Andrews, owner of the Dream Team shop, speaks to the crowd at Ocean View Park. | Anthony Myers/Ingleside Light
Gwendolyn Brown, daughter of Inner City Youth founder Michael Brown who's done extensive community work with Young Community Developers, shouted out Andrews for his work in the neighborhood. She also said the community is key to the city's renown.
"You can go to any other city in this country, and if you tell them you are from San Francisco, they know all about it," Brown said. "That's part of our contribution."
