This is Pride Weekend in San Francisco, one of the nation's biggest
celebrations of tolerance and inclusion. But some people in the gay community
feel their invitation may have gotten lost in the mail.
"There's been an unintended erasure of blacks in the Castro," says Bill
Doggett. "It's created a sense that there's nothing here for us." Now that's
changing, thanks to a new program of mixers Doggett has launched at Magnet, a
neighborhood health services office.
Doggett, a 52-year-old commercial photographer originally from Los
Angeles, used to party at the Pendulum in the Castro, a lively bar near 18th
and Collingwood that closed down for remodeling two years ago.
The shuttering came in the midst of one of the neighborhood's messier
sagas. A group of activists called And Castro for All accused Les Natali, the
owner of the Pendulum and the Badlands, the popular club across 18th Street, of
discriminating against black patrons -- accusations that Natali strongly
denied.
In May 2005, the San Francisco Human Rights Commission ruled that Natali
had referred to African Americans as "non-Badlands customers" and required
blacks to offer multiple forms of identification before entering -- claims
that Natali denied. After the commission's findings and community outrage, he
closed the Pendulum two months later for remodeling -- an act that was viewed
by black leaders as retaliation for the original complaints. Subsequently,
however, the state's Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control investigated the
complaints, said they could not be substantiated and dismissed them.
Natali did not return phone calls left at his residence and office.
But the Badlands incident, along with the extended closure of the
Pendulum, have left a distinct void in the city's gay community. At a time when
the city's African American population is in decline, the loss of the Pendulum
only highlights the dwindling presence of African Americans in the Castro.
In response, five months ago Doggett co-founded the monthly mixer for
African American men at Magnet. Also, the Edge, a club across the street from
the Pendulum that usually cranks out oldies and party music, recently started
Soulful Thursdays, a night meant to attract more African Americans.
John Newsome, a co-founder of And Castro for All, said that because his
group reached a confidential settlement with the club owner in 2006, he was
unable to discuss the status of the Pendulum.
But anecdotally, Newsome observed, "My sense is that fewer African
Americans are coming into the community as the number of black-identified
spaces has decreased."
Newsome recalled that in the '80s, the neighborhood had several clubs that
catered to black patrons, but that has changed over the years, and the Pendulum
represented the last club available.
Newsome, who is African American, called Doggett's mixers "a critical need
in the community."
"It begs the question," Newsome said, "if we're left to using social
spaces that are on loan and shared, isn't it clear we don't have any permanent
spaces?"
Doggett said an average of 60 people have attended the mixers, which are
held on the third Saturday of every month and are a mixture of networking,
dance party and potluck dinners.
It's also a chance to mentor recent arrivals in the area's African
American gay community.
"Many are attracted to the 'gay mecca' ideal," Doggett said, "where
everyone will be welcoming and understanding. I had a different experience and
so do a lot of people of color; we help to integrate them to the reality."
Vincent Fuqua, co-founder of SFBrothas, an outreach program for black gay
men in San Francisco, said, "Losing a bar where African Americans went, that
hurt," he said. "There was not a huge presence to begin with, and now there's
none."
David Wheeler, a manager at the Edge, said the Soulful Thursdays night,
still in a trial phase, was added to the club's weekly schedule after talks
with Doggett.
"I don't want to say it's an attempt to cater to African Americans,"
Wheeler said, "but it's a night that, hopefully, will make it more appealing
for a diverse crowd." During this weekend's series of Pride events, a Friday
night reception was held for the African American grand marshals at Levende
Lounge in the Mission, and today a Black Pride stage in the Castro will host
readings and music acts focused on African Americans.
Fuqua, the SFBrothas co-founder, said of the closed Pendulum, "Hopefully
there will be something like that in the Castro again. But we'll see."
E-mail Justin Berton at jberton@sfchronicle.com.
