Tag Archives: Black Lives Matter

Voices

OPINION | Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action Builds a Foundation for the Future

by Mark Epstein and Michael Dixon

Across most Seattle streets and residences, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) signs that sprouted like flowers in 2020 are either falling apart from exposure or have been yellowing in a garage or closet. Why is this happening? The answer is that for many Black families in Seattle, these past four years (and the trend seems to be accelerating) have meant a continuing exodus from a place they can no longer call home. It is the culmination of a racial, socioeconomic plan and system for this city and many others across the country.

Continue reading OPINION | Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action Builds a Foundation for the Future →
News

Black Lives Matter at School Started in Seattle, Took Root Nationally, Continues With a Week of Action

by Nimra Ahmad

Black Lives Matter (BLM) at School begins its Week of Action today, Feb. 5 — a week for Seattle Public Schools to focus on empowering Black youth. The movement, now national, started in 2016 at John Muir Elementary School when, upon getting a bomb threat, administrators had to cancel an assembly designed to support its Black students.

Continue reading Black Lives Matter at School Started in Seattle, Took Root Nationally, Continues With a Week of Action →
News

NEWS GLEAMS | $10M Settlement Reached in BLM Lawsuit; ICJ Concludes Israel May Be Engaged in Genocide

1 Comment

A roundup of news and announcements we don’t want to get lost in the fast-churning news cycle!

by Vee Hua 華婷婷

Continue reading NEWS GLEAMS | $10M Settlement Reached in BLM Lawsuit; ICJ Concludes Israel May Be Engaged in Genocide →
Voices

OPINION | A Reflection on Gun Violence and Some Questions for the Shooters

by Mark Epstein

Cornel West, speaking in the Rainier Valley last month, used the analogy of a musical ensemble for the expression of the beauty and the sorrow and blues of the human experience. Yet throughout the Valley, our city, and the country as a whole, the song has been punctuated in the last month by the discordant sound of gunfire. West decried the insufficiency of identity politics, declaring that pharaoh comes in all colors, and called for meaningful, substantive discussion and social and political change. His presidential candidacy is intended to spark that discussion. 

The gunshots provide a strong exclamation point to the socioeconomic, political, and moral crisis which confronts our society at this time. Like the COVID pandemic, the omnipresence of gun violence is affecting all of us, whether we realize it or not. I myself was witness to one of the episodes, ducking for cover for 40 seconds while bullets soared overhead and on both sides. 

Continue reading OPINION | A Reflection on Gun Violence and Some Questions for the Shooters →
Voices

OPINION | His Name Was Trayvon Martin

A letter to Roman, Alexander, Serea, and Jada.

by Marcus Harrison Green

A version of this article was originally co-published with The Seattle Times.

Today is the 11th anniversary of Trayvon Martin’s death.

You’re not yet old enough to know that his name should mean something to each of you. But I can’t recall his life without thinking of yours. 

Continue reading OPINION | His Name Was Trayvon Martin →
Voices

OPINION: As We Celebrate Juneteenth, We Must Honor Our Past While Fighting for Our Future

by Derrick Wheeler-Smith

Three years ago, I had the privilege to stand on the shores of Point Comfort (today’s Fort Monroe) in Hampton, Virginia, with hundreds of other African Americans to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the first landing of enslaved Africans in English North America. Standing at the Ellis Island of African America 400 years ago, I imagined what their perilous landing must’ve been like. What I know for sure is that their presence profoundly impacted the cultural manifest of America’s past, yet their descendants remain subject to socioeconomic and political disparities today.

Continue reading OPINION: As We Celebrate Juneteenth, We Must Honor Our Past While Fighting for Our Future →
Voices

OPINION: To My Nieces and Nephews on the 10th Anniversary of Trayvon Martin’s Killing

by Marcus Harrison Green

(This article is copublished with The Seattle Times.)

To Roman, Alexander, Serea, and Jada:

You’re not yet old enough to know about Trayvon Martin. But every time I think of his life, I think of yours. 

Continue reading OPINION: To My Nieces and Nephews on the 10th Anniversary of Trayvon Martin’s Killing →
Community

The Morning Update Show — 11/9

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, Periscope, and whereweconverge.com.

We 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 — Tuesday, Nov. 9

LIVE — Kevin Schofield | #SeattleBudgetSchool | Do Black Lives Still Matter in City Hall? | The Elections by the Numbers | Arbery Case Update | Where Are We Eating at in Belize?

Continue reading The Morning Update Show — 11/9 →
Community

Black Fathers Matter March: Honoring and Uplifting Black Fathers in Our Community

by Chamidae Ford

On the clear and warm Juneteenth afternoon, dozens of people gathered at Tukwila Village to march for Black fathers. The Black Fathers Matter March is an event dedicated to honoring Black fathers with a goal to emphasize the fact that despite the stereotypes forced on Black men around fatherhood, many are present and supportive of their children. 

Continue reading Black Fathers Matter March: Honoring and Uplifting Black Fathers in Our Community →
Voices

OPINION — Say Her Name: Charleena Lyles

Four years after she was killed by police, her family still seeks answers.

by Katrina Johnson, Jesse Hagopian, and Michael Bennett

The broadest protests in U.S. history occurred last spring and summer in the wake of the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and others. While this uprising around the country — in all 50 states, in rural and urban areas — was certainly about those widely publicized horrific murders at the hands of police, masses of people rose up around the country in large part because they had seen similar police violence in their own communities — including here in Seattle. 

Four years ago, Charleena Lyles, a 30-year-old Black pregnant mother of four, was fatally shot by two white Seattle police officers.

Continue reading OPINION — Say Her Name: Charleena Lyles →