by Karina Quiroz
Today is not about the diplomas that we all get
But about the journey we took to get these stoles around our neck
Continue reading POETRY: Graduation DayTag Archives: Featured
Where Beauty Lies
by Shin Yu Pai
I thought the show should be called Hey, Good Looking, but the marketing team for the the Wing Luke Museum voted in favor of the more lyric Where Beauty Lies. I’d been hired to write the narrative panels and introductory text for an exhibition organized around decolonizing beauty. Counting up the number of cosmetic and elective procedures I’ve undergone over the years, I felt at least some mild sense of disingenuousness. But part of why I signed up to help with the show was to make myself look more closely at some of my half-examined beliefs about beauty.
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Sunday Comix: Clap Harder
Cham Refugees Community Awaits Approval to Build New Gathering Space
by Ronnie Estoque
The Cham Refugees Community (CRC), a local nonprofit organization that provides educational, social, and cultural services to Cham and other ethnic minorities in South Seattle, is in the proposal process of upgrading their building space into a 12,000-square-foot community center and religious space. Throughout the years, the CRC has been able to acquire property at 5945 39th Avenue South, as well as four other residential properties adjacent to their address. The proposal has been in the works for years through grassroot efforts by local Cham community members pitching in for the property purchases.
“The elderly and the families continue to still donate despite struggling because it was very important to have a space to meet,” Sarya Sos, CRC’s program manager, said. “We don’t do interest in our community because we follow kind of the Muslim kind of teachings … and so borrowing money with interest is out of the picture.”
Members of the Cham community who had extra cash set aside pooled together money to purchase the five properties over a span of 40 years, with the CRC eventually repaying, with no interest, those who sought repayment; others saw it as an opportunity solely to donate to building a space for gathering. As they have grown, the CRC has identified the need to expand their community space to increase their services and programming, which largely focus on youth and the elderly.
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Intentionalist: Beyond Seattle — Explore Black-Owned South King County Businesses
by Jax Kiel
Intentionalist is built on one simple idea: where we spend our money matters. We make it easy to find, learn about, and support small businesses and the diverse people behind them through everyday decisions about where we eat, drink, and shop. #SpendLikeItMatters
There’s nothing not to love about small businesses in Seattle, but this August let’s explore the rest of King County and the small businesses that are just a bus or car ride away.
King County has a population of approximately 2.2 million people — and tens of thousands of businesses — but only about a third of County residents live in Seattle. While the vibrant small businesses in Seattle bring light to lives and communities, it’s important not to forget about those beyond the city.
As in Seattle, the small businesses in wider King County are the lifelines, backbones, and safe spaces of their individual communities. This August, explore King County and these Black-owned businesses in Kent, Renton, and Federal Way.
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Weekend Long Reads: The Climate Change Report
by Kevin Schofield
This week the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued its new Sixth Assessment Report on the current scientific consensus on where things stand with regard to our changing global climate. It’s an update on its last report (the Fifth Assessment) from 2013, with hundreds of scientists from all over the world collaborating to provide both assessments of the current climate and also updated models of what is most likely to happen from here.
The new report is 3,949 pages. That is a “long read” even outside of my tolerance, so I’m not going to suggest that you read it. Instead, I’m going to point you to three much shorter documents to read:
- IPCC’s Summary for Policymakers;
- IPCC’s Regional Fact Sheet for Central and North America, which focuses on the present and future impacts of climate change here in our own backyard; and
- An excellent summary by the news site Quartz on the key findings from the full report.
Seattle Children’s Hospital Workforce Protest for Full Covington Report
by Jasmine M. Pulido
About 100 employees from Seattle Children’s Hospital (SCH) participated in a one-hour silent protest in front of the hospital’s main campus on Sandpoint Way on Wednesday, Aug. 11, at noon. Smaller protests occurred concurrently at the Autism Center, Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic (OBCC), and the CURE center. The protests follow the conclusion of an independent assessment into systemic and interpersonal racism at the hospital, conducted by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and the Covington & Burling firm, and the initial decision by SCH to only release a summary of the recommendations from the investigation, not the findings. Following public outcry, SCH’s board of trustees released 11 main findings and detailed recommendations earlier this week, but community members say much more needs to be done.
The investigation was originally prompted after Dr. Ben Danielson, medical director at OBCC, resigned last November. After 20-plus years of service, Danielson cited multiple instances of racism he either experienced or witnessed as a medical provider at the hospital.
On Aug. 9, CEO Jeff Sperring and board chair Susan Betcher each released letters disclosing the summary of 11 findings statements as well as the detailed recommendations of Covington & Burling’s report. Yet despite releasing new pertinent information from the report, multiple calls for the resignation of the CEO and board chair are still being made based both on the premise that information was initially withheld to begin with under the guise of confidentiality and the stark findings of the investigation. Washington State BLM Alliance recently started a petition demanding both the resignation of SCH leadership as well as the release of the full report written by Covington & Burling.
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The South End Guide to Reducing Our Carbon Footprint: Safety to Walk and Roll
by Mark Van Streefkerk
For Seattle to meet its carbon-neutral goal, we need to take an honest look at how we get from one place to another. Burning fossil fuels, like gasoline and diesel for motor vehicles, emits greenhouse gasses. In Seattle, roadway transportation makes up 40% of greenhouse gas emissions. For the U.S., emissions from transportation account for 29% of total greenhouse gases. Reducing our reliance on cars and gasoline plays an important role in reducing our carbon footprint. The good news is that everyday choices to walk, bike, scoot, or roll instead of driving can significantly reduce the greenhouse gasses we produce. Earlier this year a study found that ditching the car for one day out of the week can reduce personal carbon dioxide emissions by a quarter. Swapping even one trip in a car with walking or rolling makes a significant impact over time.
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Ask a Therapist: How to Live in a Turbulent New Normal
by Liz Covey, LMHC
Question: When I go back out into the world, I find myself exhausted, forgetful or even at times excessively irritable. I don’t understand what is going on. Is this normal after a long time in quarantine? Or should I be worried that something is really wrong with me and seek help?
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Advocates Push for Systemic Change in Face of Rising Hate Crimes in Seattle
by Ashley Archibald
The first time Brianna Auffray’s client went to the police about a potential arson, they took down a report, but they did not classify it as a hate crime — despite a derogatory note left near the damage. The second time a fire was set at the same family’s home, law enforcement acknowledged that there appeared to be a pattern of arson but still didn’t change the classification. The message from the police was “who’s to know what their motives were?” said Auffray, who is the legal and policy manager for the Council on American Islamic Relations Washington (CAIR-WA).
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