The corner of Fillmore and Geary Streets was once the heart of the “Harlem of the West,” a stomping ground of John Coltrane and Billie Holiday at the height of the Fillmore’s “jazz district” heyday of the 1940s and 1950s. But an urban renewal movement in the following decades destroyed the neighborhood of much of character and legacy, and in recent decades, the corner of Fillmore and Geary Streets has merely housed a Money Mart check-cashing place beneath the Fillmore theater.
But that check-cashing place has checked out, and a real urban renewal for the neighborhood is moving in. KPIX reports that a new marketplace called In The Black will be the home of 22 Black-owned retail small businesses, and the video segment below gives us a sneak preview of its progress.
“The goal is to create generational wealth within the Black community,” Pia Harris, the “driving force” behind In The Black and San Francisco Housing Development Corporation economic development director tells the SF Standard. “The reason why we chose the name ‘In the Black’ is because it’s an idiom that means to be profitable and not in debt, but it’s also about celebrating the beauty and resiliency of Blackness.”
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The lineup of businesses that will be represented at In The Black is coming together; the above clothing brand CIK Apparel will be there, plus Belle Noire Accessories seen below, and more to be announced.
And naturally, In The Black will open on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, at the corner of Fillmore and Geary Streets.
In The Black opens Friday, November 25 at 1567 Fillmore Street (at Geary Street), and will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
