The Mother of Human Rights in California by Kati Walker of San Mateo, California

The Mother of Human Rights in California

by Kati Walker

San Mateo, California

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She stared right at them. The girls were shocked-how could this be real life?!

~ earlier that day ~

Katrina arrived at Dakota’s house around noon, just as the girls had planned. Keisha and Delilah should already be upstairs. Halloween was only a few days away, and the four girls had decided to have a girls’ day to do some spooky activities.

Dakota swings the door open and exclaims, “Hey Katrina! You ready for our spooky girls' day?”

“You know I am!” Katrina yells back as the girls hug.

Katrina and Dakota run up the stairs, Keisha and Delilah yell, “Let’s get this party started!”

The girls spend a couple of hours catching up and carving pumpkins. They are playing Halloween music and eating tons of fall goodies. Eventually, the conversation lands on ghost stories. They take turns telling their best ghost stories about their hometown. All four girls grew up in San Francisco and absolutely love it. They spent their childhood together exploring all of the city’s hidden gems. These girls are always up for an adventure, and that is something you are sure to find in the city by the bay. 

“Have you guys heard of Mary Ellen Pleasant?” prompts Katrina. 

“No, who is that? Tell us the story!” Delilah replies. 

“Okay!” Katrina exclaims.

Mary Ellen Pleasant was a former slave and indentured servant who came to San Francisco in 1899. She lived a tough life but eventually opened up her own restaurant. She was also known for picking up stock tips from her wealthy businessmen customers. Mary Ellen took these tips to good use and made herself rich! She even designed and built her own mansion on Octavia Street. This is where the story gets interesting. Mary Ellen lived with her business partner and his wife. And then...she actually was accused of pushing him down the stairs and killing him! After this, she got pressured into leaving San Francisco, which caused her to lose all her savings and then she died a few years later. While her death isn’t anything special, she still haunts the commemorative park on Octavia and Bush St. Apparently, if you stand on the plaque and make a polite request it will be granted. However, if you do not show her proper respect, she might throw a rock at your head. She planted a few eucalyptus trees that are still there today, but her mansion is no longer standing. That’s basically the gist of her story and I think we could go visit her tonight. 

“What do y’all think??” Katrina asked.

“Wow! I would love to ask her about her life,” says Keisha, “she sounds so interesting!”

“Let’s go check it out,” replies Dakota, “that spot isn’t far from my house!”

 They decide to eat dinner and head over to the park after. They wait until it's dark to up the stakes on the spookiness.

The girls eat their fall-inspired dinner. Their freshly carved pumpkins lend a fright to the dinner table. They continue to tell ghost stories. The four girls have never encountered ghosts themselves directly, but Katrina had a friend in middle school who saw a ghost. She was lying in her bed, looking at a mirror on her wall that reflected the hallway. All of a sudden, she noticed a figure of a man in the shadows. The figure took a couple of steps towards her and she immediately flew under the covers. She waited a couple of minutes before looking again, and he was gone. Upon hearing this, Katrina had wished it happened to her. She has always been intrigued by ghosts, spirits, and all kinds of spooky things. At the dinner table, Katrina thought to herself that, maybe tonight they could encounter the ghost of Mary Ellen Pleasant. 

What kinds of things might I ask her? I would definitely want to know if she really did push her business partner down the stairs? Why did she leave San Francisco and did she miss it? I would have to ask her about her experience before becoming successful, and I would want to know how did she become successful? Wow, there is a lot you can learn from someone like this. 

The girls finished dinner and quickly got ready to leave. Dakota lives in Pacific Heights, so it wasn’t too far of a journey for them. The girls owned the streets as they walked to their destination. The night air was crisp, and there was a slight breeze, but it was bearable and the walk was actually quite nice. These girls had been walking the streets of San Francisco for their entire lives, and this felt so natural to them.

“Well, here we are,” said Katrina. 

The street signs were illuminated in the dark, “Bush and Octavia,” confirmed Keisha, “we’re in the right place, and look, here are those eucalyptus trees!”

Right at that moment, the girls felt a slight rush of wind sweep past them and blow through the eucalyptus trees. The four of them made eye contact.

“Okay guys, let’s remember to be respectful. Let’s sit here near the plaque and then maybe we can start talking to her,” said Delilah. 

“Mary Ellen Pleasant… are you with us?” asked Katrina.

The girls were met with silence. They waited a few minutes, but nothing. 

“That’s strange,” says Dakota, “didn’t we just get that gust of wind? I thought for sure this would be a lot easier after that.”
 “Maybe we’re doing something wrong,” says Katrina, as she stands on the plaque.

“Mary Ellen Pleasant… you lived a fantastic life and there is so much we want to learn from you. If you feel comfortable we would love to have a visit from you and learn more about your life. Take your time, we will be here when you’re ready,” Katrina stated in a calm and welcoming voice.

The other three girls looked up at her standing on the plaque in silence, waiting for something to happen. All of a sudden, they felt another gust of wind, but this time it was ten times stronger. It looked as if they had just got caught in the middle of a hurricane, and once it subsided, they were no longer alone.

She stared right at them. The girls were shocked-how could this be real life?!

“Wow! You are Mary Ellen Pleasant! It is such an honor to meet you!” blurted out Katrina.

The other three girls stared in awe. They didn’t think this would actually work, yet here she was standing right before their eyes. 

“Hello girls, I heard your request for a conversation and I wanted to let you know you are in luck. I just so happen to love telling my story, especially to strong young women such as yourselves,” Mary Ellen Pleasant spoke calmly.

“Wow, what an honor! I am speechless!” exclaimed Dakota. 

“What can you tell us about your life? We would love to hear it!” added Delilah.

“Yes please! Bless us with your knowledge and life story, I’m sure we are going to enjoy it,” Keisha stated.

“Alright, where to begin…”  

I was born into slavery in Georgia, but then raised in Massachusetts. During my time there, I actually became involved with the Underground Railroad. From a young age, I knew that there was so much injustice in this world and I wanted to be a part of the change. After my first husband died, I moved from the East Coast to San Francisco. I worked in a restaurant, and many wanted me to be their own private chef. I then decided to open my own restaurant, and from there took advice from my wealthy customers. I love to learn new things and I love to increase my knowledge on any and every topic. I especially took these tips to heart and ended up making a good life for myself. I became very successful and even built my own mansion. I do wish it were still here today, you girls would have loved it. Anyways… in this mansion, I lived with my business partner, Thomas Frederick Bell. I called him Tommy, we had a nice friendship. As you may or may not know, he ended up falling from the top of his stairs to his death. I was accused of committing this crime, but I would never do such a thing! Tommy was a dear friend of mine, and I enjoyed his company. That was a tragic, tragic time as his wife then ordered me out of the house a few years later. She got a new lover, and he convinced her that I was horrible. After leaving the mansion, I left the city and without the city, I felt lost. I died a few years later and I always longed to be back in my mansion where I felt the most joy. I was able to “pass” for white which allowed me to coexist within the white community without much scrutiny. It allowed for me to do the work most important to me, which was to bolster the African-American community. My mansion was even referred to as the “Black City Hall”. Oh man, we had a good time, and it became a place for our community to meet up and talk. I worked hard to facilitate the path to better life for as many Black folks as I could. I am happy with my life. I believe that I did my part for my community, even if I couldn’t live out my last days here. I will forever stay in the city, this is truly my home.

“Wow. That is quite the story, thank you so much for sharing with us,” said Katrina.

“My pleasure, girls, I am happy that you decided to pay me a visit tonight. Now, before I go I do ask one thing. Tell my story to anyone who is willing to listen. I know that I am not as well known as some other figures from San Francisco, but I do believe that my story is one to share,” said Mary Ellen Pleasant.

“Of course it is! And of course, we will,” assured Delilah.

“Thank you girls, and with that, I leave you with this… my cause was the cause of freedom and equality for myself and my people. I’d rather be a corpse than a coward. And you all should too.”

Another strong gust of wind blew through the park, and once it all subsided the girls were left standing there alone.

😋 Also, here is a funny little Youtube video about her life (it’s done by the comedy show :Drunk History.” I don’t know if you have heard of them but they get drunk and talk about history LOL):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoF3417mQtI&t=20s

My Sources:

https://www.kqed.org/news/11701126/how-a-heroine-became-a-demon-in-victorian-san-francisco

https://househistree.com/houses/bell-mansion-san-francisco