Elouise Westbrook (1915-2011) was an American housing rights and health activist in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. She was one of five activists that made up the

Big Five of Bayview The Big Five of Bayview were the community leaders and political activists from the Bayview-Hunters Point, San Francisco, Bayview and Hunters Point districts in San Francisco who were instrumental in backing the India Basin and Hunters Point Redevel ...

Life and career

Westbrook was born in

Gatesville, Texas Gatesville is a city in and the county seat of Coryell County, Texas, United States. Its population was 16,135 at the 2020 census. The city has five of the nine prisons and state jails for women operated by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. ...

in 1915. She moved to San Francisco in 1949 where she worked as a supervisor at the city's Economic Opportunity Council. After San Francisco embarked on a large-scale redevelopment plan in 1959, thousands of low-income residents were displaced and no new affordable housing was constructed. Westbrook joined the Hunters Point-Bayview Joint Housing Committee to petition the government to include affordable housing. She soon replaced activist Ruth Williams as head of the committee. In 1968, the committee petitioned the

United States Department of Housing and Urban Development The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It administers federal housing and urban development laws. It is headed by the Secretary of Housing and Urb ...

for funds to build new low-income and middle-income housing in the

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

. Due to the efforts of Westbrook and the other Big Five of Bayview, the Hunters Point neighborhood project was allotted $40 million in funding in 1971. In 1973, she testified in front of the Subcommittee on Housing and Urban Affairs of the

United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs The United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs (formerly the Committee on Banking and Currency), also known as the Senate Banking Committee, has jurisdiction over matters related to banks and banking, price controls, ...

. Throughout the early 1970s, Westbrook lobbied the city of San Francisco to open a free medical clinic in

Potrero Hill Potrero Hill is a residential neighborhood in San Francisco, California. It is known for its views of the San Francisco Bay and city skyline, its proximity to many destination spots, its sunny weather, and having two freeways and a Caltrain stat ...

. The Caleb G. Clark Potrero Hill Health Center opened in 1976.

Death and legacy

She died in her home on September 13, 2011. She was interred next to her husband at the

Golden Gate National Cemetery Golden Gate National Cemetery is a United States national cemetery in California, located in the city of San Bruno, south of San Francisco. Because of the name and location, it is frequently confused with San Francisco National Cemetery, which ...

. At her funeral on September 21, 2011, she was eulogized by Mayor

Ed Lee Edwin Mah Lee (Chinese: 李孟賢; May 5, 1952 – December 12, 2017) was an American politician and attorney who served as the 43rd Mayor of San Francisco from 2011 until his death. He was the first Asian American to hold the office. Born in ...

and former mayor Willie Brown, who said "she used to scare me" by demanding he answer her calls and showing up at his office unannounced. Actor

Danny Glover Danny Lebern Glover (; born July 22, 1946) is an American actor, film director, and political activist. He is widely known for his lead role as Roger Murtaugh in the ''Lethal Weapon'' film series. He also had leading roles in his films include ...

, who worked with Westbrook as part of the

Model Cities Program The Model Cities Program was an element of U.S. President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society and War on Poverty. The concept was presented by labor leader Walter Reuther to President Johnson in an off-the-record White House meeting on May 20, 1965. In ...

, also spoke at her funeral. The Westbrook Plaza Health Center And Housing Complex, which opened three months before her death, is named for Westbrook. San Francisco author William Delaney, one of the first African-American police officers in San Francisco, dedicated his 2011 autobiography to her. In 2007, director Kevin Gordon released a documentary short about her life titled "Tellin' It Like It Is: The Work of Elouise Westbrook".

Personal life

She was married to Isaac Westbrook, a private in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The couple remained married until his death in 1965. Elouise also has a big loving family scattered across the U.S. Even some still in Gatesville, Texas where she was born.

References

External links

1969 KRON-TV documentary featuring Westbrook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Westbrook, Elouise People from Gatesville, Texas People from San Francisco 1915 births 2011 deaths American housing activists African-American activists American health activists 21st-century African-American people Bayview–Hunters Point, San Francisco