S3E14, Part 1: Reverend Arnold Townsend's Early Life

To help elevate the voices and stories of Black San Franciscans, we are rerunning this episode.

Born in Phoenix in 1943 and raised in the all-black town of Rentiesville, Oklahoma, Arnold Townsend's family moved to Southern California when he was 6. He lived in Watts in LA on an integrated block. In this podcast, Arnold takes us through the early years of his life, with tales of racism, defiance, and, as he put it, a "Leave It to Beaver" neighborhood.

Look out for Part 2 on Thursday! ​ ​​We recorded this podcast at Arnold's office in the Fillmore in March 2020.

Photo by Jeff Hunt