SF Musicians’ Union History: Integrating the Locals & the Fight Against Segregation

LaborFest returns to TLM for a program about San Francisco’s Musician Union, the historic integration of its Black and white locals in 1960, and the fight against segregation ft. the rare documentary “Commemoration of a Merger” ft. Earl Watkins, Vernon Alley, and other local legends.

In the early 20th century, the Tenderloin was densely packed with clubs, cabarets, theaters, and all sorts of venues that featured live music. Before electric instruments and the proliferation of jukeboxes, bands needed to be BIG to fill the air for the neighborhood’s robust nightlife. So, naturally, the Musician’s Union would build its stately Union Hall for its mighty workforce in the heart of San Francisco’s entertainment district: the Tenderloin. From 1925-1998, American Federation of Musicians AFM Local 6 was headquartered at 230 Jones in a beautiful 20,000 sq. ft. Sylvain Schnaittacher-designed brick building that featured a ballroom, rehearsal spaces, offices, a rec room, and even a cigar stand. Yet despite the glitz and glamor of these high times for the AFM 6, it had a dark side: the union practiced outright segregationist policies, barring African Americans from membership and the better paying gigs in downtown hotels and clubs. 

LaborFest, San Francisco’s annual month of grassroots labor programs, returns to the Tenderloin Museum for a look at the Musician’s Union history, in particular its fight against segregation and the historic integration of the Local 6 with the Black “subsidiary” Local 669 in 1960. Organized by LaborFest’s Steve Zeltzer and musician Jimmy Kelly, this public program is anchored by a rare documentary made by Zeltzer for the Labor Video Project in 2010, commemorating the 50 year anniversary of the merger of the Local 6 & Black Local 669. A panel discussion/presentation will follow, surveying other accounts and recent scholarship about this critical overture in the Musician’s Union’s history. All this, plus live music, because there must always be a song when musicians gather!

Presented in conjunction with LaborFest & AFM. This year, LaborFest is commemorating the 90th anniversary of the historic San Francisco General Strike and the West Coast Maritime Strike in 1934. This strike not only won a union hiring hall for the longshore workers but also led to hundreds of thousands of workers joining unions not just San Francisco but in Northern California. Visit laborfest.net to see the full schedule for this year’s offerings and to learn more/support this SF institution!