and SFMOMA Team: The New Eagle Creek Saloon

Rodney Barnette made history in 1990 when he became the first Black individual to own a gay bar in San Francisco: The New Eagle Creek Saloon. As the founder of the Compton, CA, chapter of the Black Panther Party and as an out gay man, Barnette desired to create a safe space for the Bay Area’s multiracial queer community who were marginalized in other social spaces throughout the city.

A new exhibit at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), Sadie Barnette’s The New Eagle Creek Saloon, on display from April 22–May 11, 2023, reimagines the groundbreaking establishment. Sadie, Barnette’s daughter, based in Oakland, not only reminds us of The New Eagle Creek Saloon’s historical and ongoing importance, but also evidences her own skills as an artist exploring Black life, personal histories, and sociopolitical issues.

The San Francisco Bay Times recently learned more about The New Eagle Creek Saloon and the related exhibit from Sadie, Tomoko Kanamitsu, Marin Sarvé-Tarr, and Jenny Gheith. Kanamitsu is the Barbara and Stephan Vermut Director of Public Engagement at SFMOMA. Sarvé-Tarr and Gheith are both assistant curators of painting and sculpture at the museum.

San Francisco Bay Times; It is remarkable to consider that The New Eagle Creek Saloon was the first Black-owned bar for the gay community in San Francisco. Did Rodney Barnette own any other establishments previously or at the time?

Sadie Barnette: He had never owned a bar before. He worked as a bartender for 6 months to learn the business before taking over as owner.

San Francisco Bay Times: We loved hearing, from those who were there, what opening night was like at The New Eagle Creek Saloon. Apparently, music from Prince and Grace Jones were on the playlist. Does the SFMOMA exhibit capture some of this authentic vibe, or is it more reflective of current music and times?

Tomoko Kanamitsu: The SFMOMA presentation both pays homage to and expands upon the original New Eagle Creek Saloon. The opening public program, “A Friendly Place: The History of The New Eagle Creek Saloon,” will feature Rodney Barnette and Sadie Barnette, as well as former patrons of the bar such as Stephen Dorsey. The DJ from the original bar, BLACK, will be the guest DJ for the evening and they will discuss the history and legacy of the bar itself.

As for the installation, while not much remains of the original bar, the mirrors installed on the back wall are from the original location and many elements of the bar are scattered throughout. A zine featuring ephemera from the bar and clippings from the Bay Area Reporter newspaper, and photographs of patrons past and of Rodney Barnette with family will be available for visitors to flip through. Further public programming and the bar itself will be activated with dance parties, music, performances, and film, and, of course, drinks. [All will] create a space to create intergenerational connections, to mourn, and also celebrate with and for queer communities of color, past and present.

San Francisco Bay Times: The Bay Times, founded in the 1970s, also mentioned The New Eagle Creek Saloon in its pages back in the day. Some of our present team, including our lead photographer Rink, remember their visits to the Saloon. Even those who were not present can see that the SFMOMA installation created by Sadie Barnette is incredibly dynamic. Is there any other artistic work like it that you can think of, where visitors can experience some sense of an actual past venue but within a sort of fantasy framework created by the artist?

Tomoko Kanamitsu: [Two that come to mind are] Rirkrit Tiravanija, Apartment 21 (Tomorrow Can Shut Up and Go Away), 2002 ( https://tinyurl.com/2w6pj7py ) and Wu Tsang, WILDNESS , 2012, at SFMOMA.

San Francisco Bay Times: Please share your own thoughts about The New Eagle Creek Saloon installation. What do you think is most unique about it? What resonates the most with you?

Tomoko Kanamitsu: This installation is unique because it functions as an operating bar, requiring a liquor license and other logistical details. It’s also not only about the objects and ephemera but the public programs curated by Sadie Barnette in collaboration with the museum that activate the bar and bring it to life. It will also be a transformational experience for visitors, to walk into a gallery in the middle of the day that is an artwork, bar and nightclub, where time has shifted, to dance, chat, meet friends and strangers, and reflect on the legacies and futures of queer multiracial spaces in the neon pink glow of Barnette’s installation. Also, there are five unique public programs and happy hours for enjoying a drink; we hope visitors will return more than once to experience this unique artwork.

Marin Sarvé-Tarr and Jenny Gheith: Like much of Barnette’s work, this installation and performance series mines the artist’s family history to reanimate the past. She brings photographs and moments from the past to the present by inserting her own visual language of images, text, and sparkly glitter. What is so special about hosting her New Eagle Creek Saloon at SFMOMA is the ways it brings her father’s story and this important local San Francisco history to life in a new way each time the installation is activated.

San Francisco Bay Times: Sadie Barnette has said that all art is political, whether intentional or not. What do you think is the political meaning of the installation?

Tomoko Kanamitsu: While I can’t speak for Sadie, in the past fifteen years many iconic queer bars have closed in San Francisco including The Stud, Virgil’s Sea Room, Beatbox, Marlena’s, Kok, the Deco Lounge, the Gangway, the Old Crow, and the Lexington Club. The pandemic exacerbated the closures. While there are some glimmers of a resurgence—such as the recently opened Mother Bar at the former Esta Noche—the installation connects to the city’s legacy of community spaces for queer people of color and creates resonances between the AIDS and COVID-19 pandemics, which disproportionally affect people of color.

Marin Sarvé-Tarr and Jenny Gheith: Barnette’s work so often draws from moments where personal histories and everyday lived moments like birthday parties and family celebrations overlap with broader social histories. By weaving together these narratives, her work celebrates little known shared acts of celebration and resistance that are drivers behind political moments.

San Francisco Bay Times: Is it known why The New Eagle Creek Saloon had to close after just three years?

Sadie Barnette: The overhead was very high, and when a financial recession hit, it was no longer feasible to keep it going.

San Francisco Bay Times: For us there is a bittersweet aspect to the exhibit, given that there aren’t many Black owned establishments for today’s LGBTQ+ community in San Francisco. Do you think that a place like The New Eagle Creek Saloon could succeed now, or was it such a phenomenon of its particular place and time?

Tomoko Kanamitsu: I think it’s important for there to be spaces like The New Eagle Creek Saloon today and into the future. The current economic environment for food and beverage businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area is incredibly challenging, of course. One of the installation’s main collaborators is the Oakland bottle shop, Alkali Rye, which prioritizes products made by BIPOC, women, and queer people, and produced by sustainable methods. It is hosting all the museum’s happy hours and public programs. In the best possible scenario, people—especially, but not limited to, young people—visiting the installation will be inspired to become artists and entrepreneurs that can imagine more Black-owned spaces and businesses. https://tinyurl.com/47pdktwt

San Francisco Bay Times: We are curious what Rodney Burnette thinks of the exhibit.

Sadie Barnette: He is thrilled that I am telling the story of The New Eagle Creek Saloon and that he gets to be an active part of telling the tales and history. Many folks who used to frequent his bar have been able to participate in my project and they are all eager to talk about what the bar meant to them, and to make sure the name is not lost to history. He always wanted to have some kind of reunion but never imagined it would be an art exhibition that traveled the country.

As Sadie indicates, see the exhibit before it moves on! The related special interactive events—weaving libations with music, dance, and more—will likely have visitors coming again and again, just as they did in the early 1990s at The New Eagle Creek Saloon on Market Street.

In Case You Missed It

‘Let’s Continue to Have Our Joy’

Saturday, April 8, dawned clear and bright, as people started gathering across the street from San Francisco City Hall for DRAG UP! FIGHT BACK! They came in sequins and feathers, in gowns and jeans, in fantastical get-ups and in t-shirts, in full performance makeup or simply as themselves. Drag artists, transgender, non-binary, gender-nonconforming, cisgender allies, and people from every part of the spectrum showed up to stand together and be counted, to proudly proclaim their joy, and to show solidarity with their counterparts across the country who are under attack by lawmakers who are working overtime to harass, attack, and eradicate drag and trans folks from public life. As the crowd prepared to march, one of the organizers, activist Alex U. Inn, reminded the crowd not to let the haters stifle their true selves. “We are joyful! It is not about hatred. Let’s continue to have our joy.”

The march was a rousing success. Well over a thousand people joined in the march from City Hall to Union Square in a powerful but peaceful demonstration of community, solidarity, power, and love. At Union Square, a solid lineup of performers and speakers were united in their message that this community isn’t about to sit back and let the haters define them. They are going to continue to fight for their rights, and we all need to stay engaged and active in the fight against injustice, intolerance, ignorance, and hate. The organizers hope that this event will inspire similar events in cities across the country.

The crowd was also inspired by the memory of beloved drag queen and activist Heklina, whose sudden death in London just days before had stunned friends and fans throughout San Francisco and around the world. Heklina’s presence was felt everywhere throughout the day, as marchers carried signs with huge photos of her, and every speaker and performer paid tribute to her, saying that this march, this coming together of the community, was something Heklina would have absolutely loved.

Reality Check

Life can change in a moment: accidents, illness, death, disaster can change everything. When these major life changes happen to someone, too often their friends and family are left scrambling to find important information, documents, and contacts that are crucial to their care. The big lesson is: be prepared.

I’m not qualified to dispense legal advice, so I’ll leave the heavy lifting to the professionals. There are a number of online guides and classes that can walk you through the planning process, including important documents like living wills, durable power of attorney, power of attorney for healthcare, advanced health care directive, and funeral planning. Here is one specific to the concerns of LGBTQ+ people: https://tinyurl.com/36m9sy56

Even if you think you don’t have enough assets to make a will, it is well worth getting your ducks in order to make it easier for people to help you in case you become incapacitated, especially if you live alone. When an elderly friend recently had a major health crisis, we quickly learned what information might have been helpful, including:

• knowing how to reach their landlord, and making sure their landlord had a list of names and numbers to contact who would be authorized to enter their apartment; having an extra set of keys to their home;

• having a list of next of kin and how to reach them, and others who needed to be contacted;

• being provided with contact information for financial advisors, tax preparers, insurance brokers;

• possessing contact information for primary medical team members;

• and having log-ins and passwords for phone, bank, and other critical accounts.

Making sure there is at least one trusted person who has all this information, and who knows your wishes, can be essential, and save valuable time and frustration. You should also make sure there is legal proof of your permission to have them speak and act on your behalf. It’s something no one wants to think about—if you’re healthy now, it’s easy to think that death is far away, and you can get to all this next week/month/year. But all it takes is a fall, a stroke, a heart attack, a fire, an accident, to change your life from fully-functional to fully-dependent in an instant. Do yourself and your loved ones a favor by getting your plans in order now, and reviewing them once a year for updates.

A New Landmark:

Emperor Norton Place San Francisco has honored a number of artists, writers, and other historic figures by naming streets, parks, and other landmarks after them. Now the city has pledged to honor one of its most beloved denizens: the late great Emperor Norton.

Emperor Norton, but also in character. (Amster’s husband Rick Shelton also leads tours in the persona of colorful 19th century entertainer Lola Montez, and the two are frequently seen at events around the city in costume and in character.)

In February, Amster happened to run into Supervisor Aaron Peskin, and, knowing that Emperor Norton’s longtime residence on the 600 block of Commercial Street was in Peskin’s district, proposed honoring Norton by naming that block after him. Peskin loved the idea, and, in a miraculous feat of something getting through City Hall bureaucracy in record time, the Board of Supervisors approved the name change on April 12.

In his presentation to the Board of Supervisors, Amster explained why it was fitting that the city honor Norton’s memory: “Why Emperor Norton? Because his legacy encompasses the values that make San Francisco so great: inclusion, acceptance, justice for the downtrodden, and reinvention. These are values that are in our city’s DNA, especially reinvention. There is a good reason why the Phoenix is the symbol of our city, not just because we have risen from the ashes many times, but because this is a place where one can go to reinvent themselves and be accepted, even celebrated.”

Now for a bit of unrelated, but tangential history: Emperor Norton’s legacy has also been kept alive thanks to another beloved San Francisco institution. The legendary gay activist José Sarria, who proclaimed himself to be “the Widow Norton,” founded the Imperial Council of San Francisco. Each year, on the morning after crowning the new Empress and Emperor, members of the Council pay tribute to Sarria and Emperor Norton by trekking to Colma to visit their graves, which are in close proximity. And since 1972, when Gil Hernandez, aka Mr. Marcus, was crowned the first “Emperor After Norton,” each Emperor has been known by their title, followed by the initials “A.N.” —After Norton.

Bottom line: We all need to continue speaking out on behalf of the drag and transgender communities, who are under unprecedented attack from state and local lawmakers around the country. As of this writing the ACLU is tracking 452 anti-LGBTQ+ bills in the U.S.—and the number goes up almost every day. DRAG UP! FIGHT BACK! was a great start, but we have much more work to do. Be there for our drag and trans neighbors. Gift them love, respect, and support. And supporting the ACLU’s Drag Defense Fund is another good way to help: https://tinyurl.com/ACLUdrag

While 19th century businessman Joshua Abraham Norton is best known today as an eccentric and colorful personality who dubbed himself “Norton I, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico,” he endeared himself to San Franciscans of his time not just for his colorful personality, but also for championing equality, advocating for minorities and immigrants, and supporting voting rights for women. When he died, the streets of San Francisco overflowed with 10,000 people lined up to pay homage to him.

The idea of naming a San Francisco street after Norton was proposed by Joseph Amster, a longtime tour guide who has made promoting Norton’s legacy a personal mission for many years. He leads popular local walking tours not only dressed as

It may take a few weeks for the new street signs to be installed, but Amster has promised a public unveiling complete with a festive party to celebrate the life and legacy of Emperor Norton. This is sure to be a don’t-miss, very SF event, so stay tuned here for details.

SHIFT Happens

On April 14, the San Francisco Department on the Status of Women, in partnership with the African American Art and Culture Complex,

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