The International Hotel

For over fifteen years tenants of the International Hotel, primarily elderly Filipinos, struggled to defend themselves against eviction from their home. The issue reached dramatic proportions in San Francisco, with Sheriff Richard Hongisto going to jail for initially refusing to carry out the eviction and Mayor George Moscone risking an entire political career on the issue. KPFA had a transmitter inside the hotel and broadcast the eviction live. This tape presents a history of the struggle and highlights of the eviction, including an interview with Felix Ayson, I-Hotel resident and anti-eviction activist who died shortly after being forcefully evicted from his apartment. Contains sensitive language. Live coverage of the evictions was provided by the Third World News Bureau in Oakland, California.