Local Artist Highlights San Francisco's Black History With Posters Along Market Street
By Gianna Franco
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- If you're walking down Market Street this month, you might notice a series of new art posters that are now featured at several Muni stops.
Artist Frederick Noland created the series to commemorate Black History Month and to highlight several trailblazers who helped pave the way for change in San Francisco.
The posters feature Maya Angelou, William Cobb, Sly and the Family Stone, Cecil F. Poole, and Supervisor Doris Ward, just to name a few.
Noland said the project was also a chance to feature the unsung heroes of San Francisco's black history, such as the poster on the corner of Market and Drumm, which tells the story of Mary Ellen Pleasant.
"She was one of the most mind-blowing discoveries that I made In the whole series, she was one of the wealthiest people in San Francisco during the Gold Rush, she was very powerful and very connected and was one of the driving forces of the Underground Railroad." Noland said.
Noland hopes that people will take the opportunity to learn something new and see the city's history from a different view.
"San Francisco has a very rich and wide history of more than you would expect, the black history is very deep it goes to the Fillmore, to North Beach, it goes everywhere in this city and there's plenty more to be discovered," Noland said.
His work will be featured until the end of March and is part of a grant program through the San Francisco Arts Commission.
So, the next time you're walking along Market St, or waiting for the next bus at a Muni stop, take a minute to check out Noland's work, you just might learn something new about San Francisco's colorful history.
