The radical history of ’80s San Francisco, in photos
- Text by Miss Rosen
- Photography by Janet Delaney
San Francisco in the ’80s was a study in contrasts. As the shadows of gentrification began to creep over the heart of the city, just South of Market, the people of the Mission took to the streets to protest the policies coming out of the Reagan White House.
During this time, American photographer Janet Delaney was at the centre of it all, capturing the spirit of public life in parades and protests, performances and beauty pageants. In her new book, Public Matters (MACK Books), Delaney delves deep into her archive to reflect upon the incredible impact of mass gatherings organised to serve the greater good.
At the time, the Mission was a predominantly Latinx neighborhood, made up of recent immigrants from El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Honduras who were fleeing wars and conflicts that had come about as a result of U.S. involvement. “In the 1980s, San Francisco was exploding with immigrants, not just from Central America but from Russia and Asia as well,” Delaney remembers.
“What I am trying to do in this book is acknowledge and celebrate the importance and presence of people from all the world in our communities and how being on the street is made all the richer by diversity. The Mission was a mix of all these different countries and creating a new way of being. The Day of the Dead Festival not only honoured your ancestors but protesting the wars of the Reagan administration.”
In Delaney’s photographs, we return to a San Francisco that once was: a people politicised against the establishment in a fight for survival. “The thing about Reagan was that he had a velvet glove,” she says. “He had a smooth way of being. The basis in where we are now is founded in what happened under Reagan.”
“Jimmy Carter had solar panels on the White House, and then Reagan took them off. If we had been able to follow some basic future that was being laid out in the ’70s, we would be in much better condition right now. But the corporate-lead that Reagan ushered in, and solidified by joining forces with the religious right, took the country in a different direction.”
The people of San Francisco chose to respond the best way they knew how, gathering together on the streets to amplify their voices and draw attention to the cause. “San Francisco was very savvy in responding. The protest against Nicaragua was constant and persistent, and the protests for women’s rights were a regular event.”
“I still go to marches – I am still out there. There is a sense of support, of knowing you are not alone, of trying to make a big enough noise so that you will be heard outside of your immediate community. I think change happens in so many ways. It doesn’t just happen in the legislature, it happens in the hearts and minds one by one where it becomes a gathering, a stream, a river of cultural change. It is possible: I saw it with the Vietnam War.”
Public Matters is available on MACK Books.
Follow Miss Rosen on Twitter.
Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
Latest on Huck
“I refuse to accept child poverty is a normal part of our society”: Apsana Begum MP on voting to scrap the cap
After seeking to “enhance” the King’s Speech by voting for the scrapping of the controversial two child benefit cap, the MP for Poplar and Limehouse lost the Labour Whip.
Written by: Apsana Begum
Is skateboarding really a subculture anymore?
With skate’s inclusion in the Olympics, Kyle Beachy asks what it means for the culture around the sport, and whether it’s possible to institutionalise an artform.
Written by: Kyle Beachy
Autism cannot be cured — stop trying
A questionable study into the ‘reversal’ of autism does nothing but reinforce damaging stereotypes and harm, argues autistic author Jodie Hare.
Written by: Jodie Hare
Bristol Photo Festival returns for second edition
After the success of it’s inaugural run, the festival returns this autumn with exhibitions, education and community programmes exploring a world in constant motion through still image.
Written by: Ben Smoke
Documenting the life of a New York gang leader paralysed by gun violence
New photobook ‘Say Less’ is a complex yet humanising look into a life wrecked by gun violence and organised crime.
Written by: Isaac Muk
The woman who defined 80s Hip Hop photography
A new exhibition brings together Janette Beckman’s visionary and boundary pushing images of an era of cultural change and moral panic.
Written by: Miss Rosen