Features

Black History Today: Reagan Jackson

by Marcus Harrison Green

(Black History Today is published in collaboration with Rise Up For Students)

Did you hear about the rose that grew
from a crack in the concrete?
Proving nature’s law is wrong it
learned to walk with out having feet.
Funny it seems, but by keeping its dreams,
it learned to breathe fresh air.
Long live the rose that grew from concrete
when no one else ever cared.

-Tupac Shakur, “The Rose That Grew from Concrete”

Pruning roses…

That’s the way Reagan Jackson described the craft of writing to me the first time we met. It was during a one-on-one writing session at Hillman City’s Tin Umbrella (now Onda Origins Cafe & Roastery).

I almost trembled with intimidation that first meeting. I was mere months removed from blogging in my pajamas in the basement of my parents, house after I forewent the lucrative and luxurious world of high finance to eke out a “living” as a journalist.

Continue reading Black History Today: Reagan Jackson →
News

Case Rates Remain Highest in South King County, Two Vaccination Sites Open

by Elizabeth Turnbull

A large wave of COVID-19 cases is expected to arrive in Seattle due to a variant strain of the virus, meanwhile South King County remains the most impacted by the novel coronavirus, county public health officials said in a press conference Friday afternoon. Vaccinations have been distributed at higher rates in north and central King County. In response the county has stepped up efforts to increase the number of vaccination sites for South King County residents in the past week.

Continue reading Case Rates Remain Highest in South King County, Two Vaccination Sites Open →
News

The Morning Update Show — 2/5/21

The Morning Update Show — hosted by Trae Holiday and The Big O (Omari Salisbury) — is the only weekday news and information livestream that delivers culturally relevant content to the Pacific Northwest’s urban audience. Omari and Trae analyze the day’s local and national headlines as well as melanin magic in our community. Watch live every weekday at 11 a.m. on any of the following channels, hosted by Converge Media: YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, and whereweconverge.com.

We’ll also post the Morning Update Show here on the Emerald each day after it airs, so you can catch up any time of day while you peruse our latest posts.

Morning Update Show — Friday, Feb. 5

LIVE —Lorena Gonzalez | LIVE — Sweeng One | Black History Every Day | #FeelGoodFriday | Week in Review

Continue reading The Morning Update Show — 2/5/21 →
Arts & Culture

UW Students Create ‘Nourish’ to Document Local Organizers’ Histories Through Family Recipes

by Ronnie Estoque

University of Washington (UW) students Josh Williams, Cassidy McGee, Alyssa Kearns, Sandra Li, and Dionica Sy were placed in a project group for their two-quarter Foster School of Business course called “Creating a Company Class,” which began last September. After witnessing a 2020 packed with various social movements sustained by community organizations, they chose to create a book called Nourish, a collection of short stories, photos, and recipes from 10 local Seattle organizers.

Continue reading UW Students Create ‘Nourish’ to Document Local Organizers’ Histories Through Family Recipes →
Community

Junebug’s Hallelu-jah! Sauce — a Resurrected Central District Favorite

by Beverly Aarons

“Finger-licking good!” Gail Thompson laughed as she described the first time she got a taste of Hallelu-jah! Sauce. She was eating hot and crispy chicken wings with the sauce drizzled on it. 

“It was so delicious,” she said. She rubbed the wings into the sauce. “I just could not get enough of it.”

 It was the mid-1990s in the Central District of Seattle. Her husband, Carl Thompson Jr., the owner of the now-closed southern Creole restaurant, Thompson’s Point of View, wanted to “distinguish [their] hot wings from everyone else’s in the community.”

Continue reading Junebug’s Hallelu-jah! Sauce — a Resurrected Central District Favorite →
Features

Black History Today: Baionne Coleman

by Marcus Harden

(Black History Today is published in collaboration with Rise Up for Students.)

“My silences had not protected me. Your silence will not protect you. But for every real word spoken, for every attempt I had ever made to speak those truths for which I am still seeking, I had made contact with other women while we examined the words to fit a world in which we all believed, bridging our differences.”

― Audre Lorde, “The Cancer Journals”

The courage you see in others is inspiring. Their will, their fortitude doesn’t just move you, it transforms you to become better than even you believed yourself to be. When your voice is stolen and worse yet, when you give it away, the person who uses theirs while gently placing their arm around you, becoming a human amplifier to help your voice resonate, demonstrates the highest level of courage.

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Community

Seattle University Black Student Union Begins New Student Led Scholarship Program

by Chamidae Ford

Following the death of George Floyd, Seattle University’s Black Student Union (BSU) gathered to discuss how they could improve the experience of Black students at their college. BSU President Adilia Watson asked her peers what some of the main issues facing Black students at Seattle University are. She hoped the BSU could then use this increased awareness to garner support from people for improving the experience of Black students. Two main concerns raised caught the attention of Watson. 

“The lack of diversity in the staff and faculty of Seattle U, and the lack of economic support for Black students,” Watson said. 

Continue reading Seattle University Black Student Union Begins New Student Led Scholarship Program →
News

Community Police Commission Appoints Permanent Director

by Paul Kiefer

(This article originally appeared in Publicola and has been reprinted under an agreement).

Seattle’s Community Police Commission (CPC) promoted its interim executive director, Brandy Grant, to a permanent position during a commission meeting on Wednesday morning.

Community Police Commission Executive Director Brandy Grant.
(Photo courtesy of the Community Police Commission).

Grant, who took over as interim executive director in August 2020, was one of three candidates seeking the position. The others were Eddie Aubrey, the manager of the Office of Professional Accountability in the Richmond, California police department; and Ed Harness, the executive director of Albuquerque’s Civilian Police Oversight Agency.

Continue reading Community Police Commission Appoints Permanent Director →
News

The Morning Update Show — 2/4/21

The Morning Update Show — hosted by Trae Holiday and The Big O (Omari Salisbury) — is the only weekday news and information livestream that delivers culturally relevant content to the Pacific Northwest’s urban audience. Omari and Trae analyze the day’s local and national headlines as well as melanin magic in our community. Watch live every weekday at 11 a.m. on any of the following channels, hosted by Converge Media: YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, and whereweconverge.com.

We’ll also post the Morning Update Show here on the Emerald each day after it airs, so you can catch up any time of day while you peruse our latest posts.

Morning Update Show — Thursday, Feb. 4

LIVE — Justin Carder, Cap Hill Blog | LIVE — L. Patrice Bell, NAAM | New Bill in Olympia to Support Foster Children | PCC and the Community | New Development Underway in the CD | Healing Our Collective Trauma

Continue reading The Morning Update Show — 2/4/21 →

Amplifying the Authentic Narratives of South Seattle