Melvin Van Peebles, Cable Car Gripman

We’ve written of the many Black barrier breakers in San Francisco transit. These are stories that must be retold every month, not just Black History Month. People such as Mary Ellen Pleasant, Charlotte Brown, Audley Cole, Larry Martin, Welton Flynn, Curtis Green, and Maya Angelou confronted racism and resistance; all moved the needle in our City toward equity and equality, a fight that continues today.

Other professions and industries have their own Black barrier breakers; and their stories too must become universally known. One such barrier breaker in filmmaking was Melvin Van Peebles, who, before he went to Hollywood, spent time as a cable car gripman.

And wrote a wonderful book about it.