Sometimes, It Takes Time

Erina Alejo is an educator, artist and cultural artifact keeper. But when asked how they self-identify, Alejo says they're, "a third-generation renter."
Alejo's grand-aunt immigrated from the Philippines to the Bay Area in 1959. Soon after, other family members joined. They lived in the East Bay city of Pittsburg, before moving to San Francisco. They've been renters the whole time.
Now Alejo, who spent their early years in the Mission District before being priced out and moving to the Excelsior, says they've been watching the story of gentrification unfold through a unique lens.
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