William Rhodes, a multimedia artist and the intergenerational program director at Dr. George W. Davis Senior Center at 1751 Carroll Ave. in the Bayview, moved to San Francisco 20 years ago to pursue his art career.
At the time, he knew nothing about the Bayview or the Black history of San Francisco, but he seized an opportunity to teach art in an after-school program organized by the Bayview Opera House. The community embraced him.
“This community feels very similar to the community I grew up in Baltimore,” he said. “I felt at home here.”
For the last 20 years since graduating with an M.F.A. in Fine Arts from The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Rhodes has worked as a sculptor and a furniture designer.
Most recently, he’s been working on quilts. He chose quilts as a medium for his project because of their connection to Black history in the United States.
“I remember as a child growing up, I had quilters around me,” he said. “Women that would quilt, and I had zero interest in it all.”
Black seniors in Bayview have been receptive to the quilt project, so he’s embraced the art form. Rhodes said the seniors have taught him how to quilt, and he’s gained a new appreciation for the art form.
“When I exhibit it (the quilts), they’re engaged,” he said. “They say, ‘Let’s go to the show, to see what we added to the quilt.’ Not just, ‘let’s see William’s quilt.’”
The project is a collaboration with fellow shipyard artist and historian Stacey Carter. Rhodes and Carter interviewed Black Bayview residents who lived near, worked at, or knew someone who worked at the shipyard. The quilts are sewn by seniors and include family portraits and historical archives.
“She [Carter] brought in old images of workers at the shipyard,” he said, “and one of the seniors started crying when she realized it was her mom [in the picture].”
The quilts use rectangular-shaped pieces of fabric with images provided by the seniors, or discovered by Carter during her research. Around 20 different pieces of fabric come together to form a large quilt. The art piece tells the story of how Black residents came to the shipyard for work, and the struggles they endured before and after the Navy left in 1974.
“There was so much mystery around the shipyard, and there still is,” said Rhodes. He said hearing stories about the formerly classified radiological testing site from people who worked and lived around the area has been amazing.
The work they did, he said, was top secret.
Rhodes said many African Americans came to the shipyard to escape the Jim Crow South. They arrived with the promise of a better life and access to employment. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order 8802, prohibiting employment discrimination in the defense industry.
Although Rhodes works closely with the Black seniors at a senior living community operated by Bayview Senior Service, the demographic has been steadily declining.
The Black population dropped by 22 percent since 2000, with Black residents accounting for only 23 percent of Bayview-Hunters Point in 2022. Asians now make up the majority, 38 percent, and Hispanic residents the other 25 percent.
“I saw the declining population of African Americans … ” he said, “and not having any way to record them.”
Rhodes said African Americans in Bayview rallied together during World War II to dispute employment discrimination in the Hunters Point shipyard, “they got lawyers like Thurgood Marshall.” African Americans in Bayview successfully took their case to court.
“That became a foundation for Civil Rights later on,” said Rhodes.
Carter said Thurgood Marshall’s legal papers were being kept at the National Archives in San Bruno, California. She was able to find documents and photographs to verify the oral testimony of Black seniors.
The quilts are on display at Rhodes’ studio at the Hunters Point Shipyard Artist Studios will open to the public on select dates announced by the Shipyard Trust for The Arts.
The quilts’ art is also displayed at Bayview Plaza at Third and Evans streets, Southeast Community Center, and the Southeast Family Health Center year-round in the Bayview.
“This is a really good place to really see that when you get older, it doesn’t mean you just stay in your chair and just die,” Rhodes said.
“Don’t be fooled; the seniors party hard, ” Rhodes said as he walked around the outdoor patio of the senior center. On the patio, lounge chairs and barbecue grills surrounded an outdoor bar adorned with tiki decorations.
Art classes at the senior center are free and open to the public every Friday from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
“You can be active, you can party, you can have fun,” he said. Rhodes added he’s learned you can continue to contribute to society. Even in the latter stages of life, contrary to “what society tries to teach you, where everything is about being young.”
Rhodes said seniors will dance and sing on holidays, birthdays, and special events well into the night.
Quilt art created by Bayview seniors, Oct. 19, 2024. Photo by Jose A. Velazquez. 
Art piece created by senior resident at Dr. George W. Davis Senior Center, Oct. 19, 2024. Photo by Jose A. Velazquez. 
Art piece created by senior resident at Dr. George W. Davis Senior Center, Oct. 19, 2024. Photo by Jose A. Velazquez.
Loves this article about quilts! Growing up at the age nine- we girls were instructed how to create a quilt that would be due/ ready by our tenth birthday ( giving me a full year to complete my first quilt! )
Loved seeing these quilts–Beautiful! Also appreciate the history lesson. Thank you!