51-year old Sonja Sawyer's mother was among the nearly 6,000 predominantly Black families displaced from the Western Addition and Hunters Point by San Francisco's urban renewal program during the 1960s and '70s. The city issued these households a "certificate of preference" that gives them priority in accessing city-funded housing projects. Sonja's mother passed down the certificate, but it took Sonja seven years to navigate the various eligibility requirements and successfully find her new home in Mission Bay. She likes her new neighborhood, and appreciates living near a transit stop where she can take the train to work at Young Community Developers in the Bayview.

Photo: Felix Uribe