The five African-American women were all outspoken mothers and members of the Crispus Attucks Club who worked to improve their neighborhood. Arthur Hippler characterized the day-to-day social organization of Hunters Point as "matrifocal". The Big Five first became active in the early 1960s, confronting poverty and discrimination in Hunters Point, filling the void left by weak religious leaders. Pat Womack identified them as "strong Black women who took a stand" They won fame by marching in 1973 in Washington DC for funds that had been promised to complete the housing to replace temporary housing in Hunters Point, not leaving until they had secured a $30 million grant. Streets and landmarks in the neighborhood have since been named in their honor.
Biographical sketches and legacy
The Big Five are identified in a 1996 oral history as Julia Commer, Bertha Freeman, Osceola Washington, Elouise Westbrook, and Rosalie Williams. One source from 2007 identifies Ruth Williams as one of the Big Five instead of Bertha Freeman. A second source from 2011 states the Big Five includes Beatrice Dunbar instead of Rosalie Williams and identifies Julia Commer as "Julia Coleman". A third source from 1972 states Ardith Nichols was one of the Big Five instead of Rosalie Williams. The three undisputed members are Julia Commer, Osceola Washington, and Elouise Westbrook.
Julia Commer
Commer was credited as "one of the community leaders who had fought to turn the 134-acre slum... into a new environment of garden homes and sparkling schools" in a 1978 San Francisco Chronicle article describing the demolition of the temporary housing built to house World War II shipyard workers at the San Francisco Naval Shipyard.
Osceola Washington
Elouise Westbrook
Elouise Westbrook was born in Gatesville, Texas in 1915 and moved to San Francisco in 1949. She died in her home on September 13, 2011. At her funeral on September 21, 2011, she was eulogized by Mayor Ed Lee 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.
Alternate membership
As noted above, the following five names have been advanced as part of the Big Five on some lists.
The theatre at the Bayview Opera House was renamed the Ruth Williams Memorial Theatre in 2016.
Successors and other areas
One writer identified Espanola Jackson as the successor matriarch in Bayview/Hunters Point. Mary Rogers was cited as having filled a similar role for the Fillmore/Western Addition district.
