Former GLIDE Foundation president and San Francisco poet laureate Janice Mirikitani has passed away.
She was 80 years old.
Mirikitani was a third-generation Japanese-American born in Stockton who was interned with her family during World War 2. She joined GLIDE Memorial Church in 1969 as a program director. She went on to serve as the first president of the Glide Foundation two decades later.
In 1982, she married Reverend Cecil Williams.
Mirikitani was a social activist and served as San Francisco's second poet laureate.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed released a statement calling Mirikitani one of San Francisco's true lights.
"She was a visionary, a revolutionary artist, and the very embodiment of San Francisco’s compassionate spirit," the mayor said. "As a poet, including as Poet Laureate of this City from 2000 to 2002, she used the power of her words to further the fight for equality and to call for a more just and peaceful world.
State Sen. Scott Wiener told KCBS Radio's Bob Butler that Mirikitani's passing is "a massive loss for San Francisco."
"It's really hard to even imagine what San Francisco looks like without Jan Mirikitani," Wiener said. "She (was) one of the most extraordinary human beings I've ever met in my life. I had the honor of spending quite a bit of time with her through GLIDE, but also knowing Cecil and Jan personally.
"She was this combination of strength, compassion and love that I don't know that I've ever seen before, but it's a huge, huge loss."
State Assemblymember David Chiu called Mirikitani and Williams are "the spiritual leaders" of San Francisco in an interview with Butler.
"I think San Francisco's reeling today," Chiu said. " ... She was our poet. She was our muse. She taught us all what it means to leave unconditionally, but also to fight for social justice."
San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin weighed in on Twitter.
GLIDE called her passing "sad and sudden."
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