Voices

OPINION: Ethnic Studies Could Dismantle Systemic Racism in Our Schools

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by Ari Robin McKenna

As fresh droves of people grapple more seriously with the slippery concept of systemic racism, now is the time to support the efforts of educators working to mainstream antiracist education. Three years ago, the future of ethnic studies in Seattle Public Schools (SPS) looked assured, after the school board unanimously approved a resolution in support of it. Yet the district now seems to be reversing course, and there is a closed hearing today, June 8, about the removal of SPS ethnic studies program manager, Tracy Castro-Gill, a former regional teacher of the year whose integrity and ability to cooperate are being questioned. As a massive cultural uprising marches forward seeking to address systemic racism nationwide, apparently a few folks high up in SPS’s district office seem to think it makes sense to defund ethnic studies and head in the opposite direction. Continue reading OPINION: Ethnic Studies Could Dismantle Systemic Racism in Our Schools →

Community

“We Want to Live” Rally Draws Thousands in Support of Black Youth in South Seattle

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by Ronnie Estoque

No one within a mile of Othello Park Sunday afternoon could avoid the message. The crowd was too massive, the signs too numerous and the uniform chant, Black Lives Matter, was too loud. Continue reading “We Want to Live” Rally Draws Thousands in Support of Black Youth in South Seattle →

News

Somali Health Board, King County Partners with #IDidMyPart Campaign for Two Pop-Up COVID-19 Testing Sites in South King County

by Carolyn Bick

Author’s Note: Please skip to the end if you are only looking for the testing sites’ dates, locations, and hours of operation.

Residents of South King County will have access to two free, one-day pop-up novel coronavirus testing sites on June 13 and June 14, thanks to a partnership among Somali Health Board (SHB), King County’s Office of Equity and Social Justice, Seattle-King County Public Health, and Tina Knowles-Lawson’s #IDidMyPart Mobile Testing Campaign.

Continue reading Somali Health Board, King County Partners with #IDidMyPart Campaign for Two Pop-Up COVID-19 Testing Sites in South King County →
News

Man Opens Fire at Capitol Hill Protest Sunday Night

by Emerald Staff

Update, 6/10/20:

The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office today filed one count of Assault in the First Degree (a class A felony) against Nikolas Alexander Fernandez in the shooting of Daniel Gregory on Sunday, June 7. The investigation into the shooting and the events that led up to it is still underway. An arraignment for Nikolas Fernandez is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on June 24 at the King County Courthouse.

Update, 6/8/20:

Nikolas Alexander Fernandez, who shot a protester on 11th Ave at East Pine Street on Sunday, June 7 had his first court appearance today after being arrested Sunday night. According to Casey McNerthney with the King County Prosecutor’s Office (KCPO), the KCPO asked a judge to hold Fernandez on $350,000 bail. The judge then set his bail at $200,000, but after his family spoke about his community ties and inability to pay, the judge lowered his bail to $150,000.

Fernandez’s second appearance is scheduled for Wednesday, June 10 at 2:30 p.m.

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6/7/20:

Daniel Gregory, a Black Seattle man, was shot at a protest (inspired by the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers) while trying to defend other protestors after an armed man drove his car through a throng of protesters in Capitol Hill before jumping out of the vehicle brandishing a weapon in a crowd of innocent bystanders, a surreal moment that occurred during another night of protests, Seattle police said. The shooter has been identified as Nikolas Alexander Fernandez by the King County Prosecutor’s Office. His court hearing was scheduled for 2:30 p.m. today.

Continue reading Man Opens Fire at Capitol Hill Protest Sunday Night →
News

More Than 20 Local Reps Sign Letter Urging Mayor Durkan, Chief Best to Take Action to De-Escalate Police

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by Carolyn Bick

The Emerald and other media organizations received a letter signed by more than 20 different local representatives calling on both Chief Carmen Best and Mayor Jenny Durkan to “take urgent and sustained action to de-escalate the police tactics used in daily protests.”

The Emerald was able to verify the authenticity of this letter, as it came from Rep. Nicole Macri (D-43rd). The letter is reprinted in its entirety below.

Continue reading More Than 20 Local Reps Sign Letter Urging Mayor Durkan, Chief Best to Take Action to De-Escalate Police →
Voices

Life on the Margins Special Episode: It Can Happen Here, Too

by Enrique Cerna, Jini Palmer, and Marcus Harrison Green

In this special edition of Life on the Margins, we probe deeply into the case of Manuel Ellis, a Black Tacoma man who died under suspicious circumstances while in police custody on March 3rd, 2020. The investigation into his death was seemingly dormant until it roared into the public spotlight this week after Washington Gov. Jay Inslee demanded a full investigation into the 33-year-old’s death. Since then, video footage of his fateful encounter with police, along with an audio recording of him saying the words “I can’t breathe,” have led the mayor of Tacoma to call for the firing of the four officers involved in the case. Continue reading Life on the Margins Special Episode: It Can Happen Here, Too →

News

UW Medicine Demands Elected Officials Declare Racism and Police Violence a Public Health Issue

by Elizabeth Turnbull

Healthcare professionals and protestors marched from Harborview Medical Center to Seattle City Hall at 9:30 a.m. yesterday to protest racial violence and demand Washington elected officials declare racism a public health issue.

“We have to not just accept progress, but demand change!” said Dr. Estell J. Williams, Assistant Professor of General Surgery and Executive Director of the Doctor For A Day outreach program through the UW School of Medicine and one of the individuals who spearheaded the march. Continue reading UW Medicine Demands Elected Officials Declare Racism and Police Violence a Public Health Issue →

News

Update: SPD Said It Did Not Use Tear Gas Against Protestors Saturday Night

by Carolyn Bick

UPDATE: According to an Instagram post by The Stranger, the Seattle Police Department told The Seattle Times’ Lewis Kamb that it did not use tear gas against protestors Saturday night. SPD said that its officers used pepper spray, or OC gas. The Emerald has created a new story with an accordingly updated headline.

However, according to a Times story published June 5, health experts still worry that use-of-force tools like pepper spray that act as respiratory irritants can contribute to the spread of the novel coronavirus, because they could cause people to spit or cough, releasing virus-containing droplets.

Continue reading Update: SPD Said It Did Not Use Tear Gas Against Protestors Saturday Night →
Community

Hundreds of Families Hold Black Lives Matter Vigil at Leschi Elementary

by Sharon H. Chang

Hundreds of families turned out for a moving Black Lives Matter vigil at Leschi Elementary Friday afternoon to remember George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many other Black lives lost to police violence. Families came not only from Leschi Elementary, but also Bailey Gatzert Elementary, Thurgood Marshall Elementary, Meany Middle School and Washington Middle School. Parents and children filled the schoolyard, holding protest signs while wearing black clothing. Others, who needed more social distance, stood by the fence or sat in cars parked all along Spruce Street. Continue reading Hundreds of Families Hold Black Lives Matter Vigil at Leschi Elementary →

Amplifying the Authentic Narratives of South Seattle