Finding aid to the Charles Bolton Papers on Community Organizing
1968-1988
SFH 579
Compiled by Katherine Ets-Hokin
San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library
2019
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
sfhistory@sfpl.org
Title: Charles Bolton Papers on Community Organizing
Date (inclusive): 1968-1988
Identifier/Call Number: SFH 579
Creator:
Bolton, Charles
Physical Description:
3 cartons, 1 pamphlet box
(3.25 Cubic Feet)
Contributing Institution:
San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 557-4567
info@sfpl.org
Abstract: Charles Bolton was a community organizer active in the Mission District and Bernal Heights in San Francisco. He worked with
the Mission Coalition Organization, a community action group that advocated for the residents of the mission district, and
the Model Cities Agency, a component of U.S. President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society and War on Poverty.
Physical Location: The collection is stored off-site.
Language of Materials: Collection materials are in
English with some Spanish.
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is available for use during San Francisco History Center hours, with photographs available during Photo Desk
hours. Collections that are stored offsite should be requested 48 hours in advance.
Publication Rights
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the City Archivist. Permission
for publication is given on behalf of the San Francisco Public Library as the owner of the physical items.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Charles Bolton Papers on Community Organizing (SFH 579), San Francisco History Center, San Francisco
Public Library.
Provenance
Donated to the library by Charles Bolton February, 2016.
Related materials
Researchers are encouraged to see also SFH 81, Communities of the Outer Mission Organization Records [1963]-1986 (bulk 1973-1978)
and to check the library catalog.
Conservation Note
During processing, the entire collection was re-foldered and re-housed in acid-free folders and boxes. Some metal staples
remain.
Materials Transferred
Photographs have been transferred to the San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection.
Biography
Charles Bolton
Charles Bolton was a community organizer active in the Mission District and Bernal Heights in San Francisco. He served as
Director of Evaluation and Research with the Model Cities Agency (MCA) and worked for the Mission Coalition Organization (MCO),
as a Robert Kennedy Memorial employee, during the early 1970s. Bolton's work brought him into contact with many neighborhood
improvement organizations. Significant organizations found in the collection are introduced below.
Mission Coalition Organization (MCO) 1968-1973
The MCO was a broad-based coalition of over 200 neighborhood groups that advocated for the residents of the Mission District
and worked with Mayor Joseph Alioto to attain a five-year Model Cities grant for the Inner Mission. The MCO was a federation
formed to act on many issues within the community. Although predominantly a Latino organization which included many recent
immigrants from South America, Mexico and Central America the Coalition also included Anglos, African Americans, and Asians.
Coalition members included merchants, unions, tenants, homeowners, welfare recipients, youth, senior citizens, cultural groups,
churches, and neighborhood agencies. Committees organized around issues such as housing, education and health. MCO Presidents
included Ben Martinez and Carlos Carrillo.
During their active years the MCO was influential and considered the authoritative voice for the Mission District. Working
closely with the Model Cities Agency the MCO accomplished a great deal for the Mission. Key issues included housing, education
and health. They made significant contributions in child care (Mission Childcare Consortium was a subsidiary group of MCO),
they successfully advocated for the redevelopment of the Regal Pale brewery site, they secured home improvement loans for
median and low income families, acquired local jobs for residents (specifically at Pacific Bell, and PG&E), and they sponsored
the Victorian Alliance. The MCO also protested erotic movie houses and effectively encouraged said businesses to change their
business model to show family friendly movies. The MCO feared the Mission District would be redeveloped in the same pattern
they witnessed in the Western Addition where blocks of housing were demolished. To combat this they secured low interest home
repair loans for Mission residents from Crocker National Bank.
Mission Planning Council (MPC) 1973-?
The Mission Planning Council (MPC) formed in 1973 from a group split off from the Mission Coalition Organization. Presidents
of the MPC included Luisa Ezquervo and Toby Levine. Ramon Barbieri, who served as head of San Francisco's Model Cities Program,
also served as chairman of MPC.
The MPC worked to attain renting rights for families with young children, supported turning the National Guard Armory (16th
Street) into a community center, and wanted to retain the Sears building (located at Mission and Cesar Chavez) for commercial
use and not see it used as a government building. They also supported the development of Mini Parks and wanted to limit pornography
store locations in the Mission.
Communities of the Outer Mission Organization (COMO) 1974-1978
Communities of the Outer Mission Organization (COMO) represented Bernal Heights, Portola, North and South Excelsior, and the
Crocker Amazon district. COMO Presidents included Rose Sarao, Steve Rabisa and Tom Moore.
COMO wanted more police officers, educational services, more regulations on dogs, and they worked to install traffic signals
to calm traffic flow. To save jobs they championed keeping the Sears Department Store at Mission and Cesar Chavez open. When
the store eventually closed they campaigned to maintain the space for retail use but the building was turned into government
offices. They also advocated for cleaning up McLaren Park and organized block clubs.
All People's Coalition (APC) 1972-1979
The All People's Coalition was a local action group who served as a community watchdog for Visitation Valley and Sunnydale
districts. Presidents of the coalition included Ronald C. Morton and Don Horanzy. APC advocated for more stop signs for their
neighborhood, and improved living conditions in Geneva Towers. They successfully advocated that a stoplight be installed on
a hazardous corner where one child was killed.
Scope and Content
The collection contains papers from the late 1960s and early 1970s that focus on the Mission District, and papers from the
1980s that focus on the Bernal Heights neighborhood. Since there is a large amount of overlap between the two groups they
are both found within the series Community Organizing. The collection contains by-laws for several neighborhood associations
including the Mission Coalition Organization, the Communities of the Outer Mission Organization and the Mission Planning Council.
The series Community Organizing contains documents associated with the running and organizing of neighborhood associations.
The collection also contains a small amount of papers created by the Model Cities Agency in the Model City Study Groups series.
Further series include Training materials on how to organize community groups, as well as elections and studies and reports.
The collection also contains a handful of snapshots, slides and one cassette.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in 6 series: Series 1: By-laws, Series 2: Community Organizing, Series 3: Model Cities Study Group,
Series 4: Training Materials on How to Community Organize, Series 5: Elections, Series 6: Studies and Reports.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Mission Coalition Organization -- San Francisco, Calif.
Mission Model Neighborhood -- San Francisco, Calif.
Mission District (San Francisco, Calif.).
Bernal Heights -- (San Francisco, Calif.)
Community organization -- California -- San Francisco.
box 1, folder 2
Communities of the Outer Mission (COMO)
1973
box 1, folder 3
Mission Coalition Organization (MCO)
1968-1973
box 1, folder 4
Mission Model Neighborhood Corporation (MMNC)
box 1, folder 5
Mission Planning Council (MPC)
1975
box 1, folder 6
Ocean View, Merced, Ingleside (OMI) Community Stabilization and Improvement Association
Series 2
Community Organizing
Scope and Contents
Community Organizing contains meeting minutes, agendas, action plans, and correspondence. Materials relate to the day to day
running of community organizations. The bulk of the materials relate to the Mission and Bernal Heights neighborhoods but other
neighborhoods are represented as well, specifically Visitacion Valley and Ocean View, Merced Ingleside. These papers were
created by the community action groups.
box 3, folder 1
All Peoples Coalition (APC) Platform, Agendas
1975
box 1, folder 8
Bernal Heights Block Club
1982-1984
House Fire, Photographs and Slides
Circa 1983
Physical Location: Photo Room cabinet 9A, shelf 2.
box 3, folder 3
Northwest Bernal Block Club
1976-1981
box 1, folder 10
Northwest Bernal Block Club
1976-1985
box 1, folder 12-13
Northern Bernal Heights Block Club Notes. Agendas, Meeting Flyers, Minutes, Goals/Causes, Correspondence
1974
box 1, folder 14
Northwest Bernal Block Club (NWBBC)
1987-1988
box 3
Northwest Bernal Block Club (NWBBC) Meeting. Elsie Street Widening. Joe Cheung and Department Public Works (DPW) Response.
Audio Tape
box 1, folder 15
Northwest Slope Planning Committee. Building Control Survey
1988
box 3, folder 4
Precita Park Coalition: Progress Reports, Correspondence, Meeting Minutes, Fact Sheet
1973-1974
box 3, folder 5
Precita Park Committee: Meeting Minutes, Correspondence, Priority Statement
1974-1975
box 3, folder 8
Flyers, Meeting Agendas, Ballots, Meeting Minutes
1975
box 3, folder 9
Folsom Street, Mission Campaign Against Smut, San Jose Mini Park. Agendas, Fact Sheets, Operation Upgrade
1975-1976
box 3, folder 10
Del Monte: Agribusiness Accountability Project
1973
box 3, folder 11
Juvenile Justice: Master Flow Chart Copies
1974
box 3, folder 12
Block Club Funding Proposal: Revised Structure for the Mission Block Club Organizing Project Draft, Block Club Victories List,
Fact Sheet
1974-1976
box 3, folder 13
Block Club Organizing Committee: Block Clubs, Meeting Agendas, Mission Planning Council, Correspondence, Memorandum, Project
Summaries
1974-1976
Communities of the Outer Mission Organization (COMO) Organizing Materials
box 1, folder 17
All People's Coalition Background
1973
box 3, folder 14
Fact Sheets, Correspondence
1973-1976
box 1, folder 18
Organizing Materials. Background
1973
box 1, folder 20
Mission Coalition Organization Convention and Background Materials
1973
box 1, folder 22
Strategy and Tactics
1974
Mission Area Background Materials
box 1, folder 23
Mission Area Background
1972
box 1, folder 24
Impact of BART on the Mission
1972-1973
Mission Coalition Organization (MCO)
box 1, folder 27-28
Community Organizing. Reports, Statistics, Schedules, Model Cities Strategy and History
1968-1971
box 2, folder 1
Kennedy Memorial. Correspondence and Monthly Reports
1970-1971
box 2, folder 2
Membership, Annual Convention. Clippings
1971
box 2, folder 4
Organizational Structure and Improvements
1972
box 3, folder 15
Mission Model Cities Corporation Election: Ballot
1971
box 2, folder 5
Mission Model Cities News clippings
1971-1972
box 2, folder 6
Mission Model Neighborhood Area Report
Circa 1970
box 3, folder 16
Operation Upgrade: Citizens for a Cleaner Mission. Correspondence, Meeting Agendas, Action Items
1975-1976
Mission Planning Council (MPC)
box 3, folder 17
Community Action Programs, Agendas, Flyers
1975-1976
box 2, folder 7
Mission Block Club Organizing Project. A Proposal to Rejuvinate the Mission and Northern Bernal Heights Through Citizen Involvement
and Action
1975
box 3, folder 19
Nanny Goat Hill Neighbors Block Club, Nihonmachi Eviction, Folsom Street Block Club
1973-1975
box 2, folder 8
Report for Park Funds Inner Mission
1975
box 3, folder 18
San Jose Avenue Block Club, Friends of Noe Valley, Elsie Street Concerned Citizens, Precita Park Committee, Citizens for a
Cleaner Mission
1973-1976
box 3, folder 20-21
Rezoning. Block Clubs
1974-1975
box 3, folder 22
Questionnaire Forms and Answers. Mental Health, Social Services, Public Schools
box 3, folder 23
Safety Awareness for Everyone Program (SAFE)
1977
box 2
Sunnydale-Visitation Valley Committee
1972
Series 3
Model City Study Groups
Scope and Contents
Model City Study Groups are papers that appear to have been created by the Model Cities Agency.
box 2, folder 10
Memorandums. Task Groups "City Strategy"
1972
box 2, folder 11
Study Groups / Task Groups
1972
Series 4
Training Materials on How To Community Organize
Scope and Contents
Training Materials on how to Community Organize are background materials used to organize community groups such as block clubs.
box 2, folder 12
Community Organizing
1973
box 2, folder 13-14
Community Organization and City Politics
A Thesis Presented by John Hull Mollenkopf
1973
box 2, folder 15-16
Neighborhood Beautification
1976-1978
box 2, folder 17
Community Organizing. San Francisco Senior Escort Outreach Program Community Organization Training Material
Circa 1973
box 2, folder 18
Community Organizing. Steps How To
Circa 1977
box 2, folder 19
Notebook with Instructions on How To Organize Community Groups. Includes Materials on Bernal Heights
1972-1978
box 2, folder 20
Organizing Materials. Published Articles. Background Material
1971-1972
box 2
Why Organize, Volume I
Collected and Prepared by Tony Fazio
box 2, folder 22-23
Art Agnos, Mayor
1987-1988
box 2, folder 24
Pat Norman, Supervisor
1988
Series 6
Studies and Reports
box 4, folder 2
Bureau of Criminal Statistics Data
1981
box 4, folder 3
Oakland Police Department
1981
box 4, folder 5
Displacement Studies
1977
