In celebration of the South Seattle Emerald’s 8th Anniversary, we asked community members to share moments in our publication’s history that remain special to them.

by Andrew Johnston

Help the Emerald create more “ripples and sparks” throughout the community! I’m the publisher’s mother and an Emerald founding board member. I’ve lived in Seattle all my life. Over most of those 77 years, the brilliance, diversity, and beauty of our community lacked a constant spotlight — that was until the Emerald came along. I’ve seen my son and the Emerald team sacrifice sleep, health care, self-care, and better salaries elsewhere to keep the Emerald shining a light on our community. I’d never ask anyone to make that kind of sacrifice, but I do ask to do what you can today to support the Emerald as a Rainmaker, or sustaining donor, during their 8th anniversary campaign, Ripples & Sparks at Home, April 20–28. Become a Rainmaker today by choosing the “recurring donor” option on the donation page!

—Cynthia “Mama” Green, The Publisher’s Mama & Rainmaker 

Way back in 2014, I was introduced to Marcus Harrison Green at a community event at the now-bygone Hillman City Collaboratory. At this time, the South Seattle Emerald, still in its infancy, was little more than Marcus himself. He passionately explained its impetus and where he saw it going. We immediately started vibing on community journalism and countering The Seattle Times’ editorial board and other mainstream propaganda machines that consistently tip the scales of justice in favor of the rich and powerful. I was a young architect with no tangible connection to the world of journalism, but I recognized journalism’s power and was awakening to how this power was being abused to the detriment of my city and beyond. I also recognized the importance of Marcus’ work because it represented a solution, a path forward, a way to empower a community of folks so often misrepresented and held down. I left our conversation energized and excited about this new friend I had met.