Born in 1939, Bill Sorro grew up in San Francisco’s working class and
predominantly African American Fillmore District, long before working class
folk were pushed out by Justin Herman’s notorious redevelopment schemes. 
Coming from a family that suffered as a result of anti-miscegenation laws
[his Pilipino father was arrested and jailed for marrying a white woman],
Bill consistently sought to connect the struggle against class exploitation
to that of racial oppression.
 
Nowadays people in progressive circles often discuss ways to decrease ones
footprint in the world; it can truthfully be said, however, that Bill Sorro
left a tremendous footprint in peoples’ lives and in their collective
struggles. 

 
Recently, he became an inspirational anchor for a growing housing justice
movement in San Francisco, from the Mission Anti-displacement Coalition to
the South of Market Community Action Network (SOMCAN).   

 
Compañero Bill, however, leaves a much deeper and longer legacy: most
obviously, for Pilipinos (as a leader of the famed International Hotel
struggle, as a member of the Kalayaan Collective and, later, of KDP-the
Union of Democratic Pilipinos, as a founder of the Manilatown Heritage
Foundation, and as mentor for countless Pilipino youth), but equally for
communities of color in general, for the working class in particular (as a
long-time union activist and committed socialist), and ultimately for all
that suffer and struggle against the indignities of oppression and
exploitation ... whether it be here in the belly of the beast or across the
globe.  Standing in solidarity with anyone fighting for justice, Bill
embodied the often-quoted, but rarely lived, notion that the essence of any
true revolutionary is a profound love for the people!  And, man, Bill
loved the people!  Right on, brother!  All Power to the People!

 
He stands in that long tradition of individuals like Philip Vera Cruz, Paul
Robeson, Dolores Huerta, and many others who made enormous contributions to
history.  But Bill made history by believing in and nurturing the
leadership of others, by supporting the insights and wisdom, the creativity
and resourcefulness of everyday people.  He believed power truly existed in
the people themselves; they need not look outwards for salvation, only into
the mirror. Bill made societies most discarded people—the elderly, the
homeless, the immigrant, queer  and transgendered people, individuals with
substance abuse issues, youth of color—count and believe in themselves. 

Bill leaves behind a tight knit family—his wife Giuliana, who he met on the
2nd Venceremos Brigade to Cuba and subsequently married at the I-Hotel, and
children Desu, Daphne, Danae, Django, Giulio, Joachin, and Jordan—as well
as one that expands to include literally hundreds of community activists
and friends, all who feel a part of the Sorro family.  This broader
family—one that includes many who may never have even met him—continue to
organize and fight to realize Bill’s dream: a world in which people matter
more than profit and property.  And we collectively dedicate ourselves to
fight for that future described in Bill’s favorite song: Donny Hathaway’s
“Someday We’ll All Be Free.”
 

By
Jason Ferreira, Assistant Professor, College of Ethnic Studies, San
Francisco State University; and
Eric Quezada, Mission Anti-Displacement Coalition, and Executive Director,
Dolores Street Community Services.

Written & Published in the San Francisco Bay Guardian this week.