by Mahkyra Gaines and nikkita oliver
Today marks Transgender Day of Remembrance, which honors the memory of those whose lives were lost to anti-transgender violence. The tradition of honoring the lives of transgender loved ones murdered by anti-transgender violence was established by Gwendolyn Ann Smith in 1999. The first Transgender Day of Remembrance was in honor of Rita Hester — a Black transgender woman who was murdered in 1998.
Continue reading May We Remember All So That All Will Matterby Elizabeth Turnbull
Without the Emerald, the true narrative of our community would rarely be told. For too long, and for too often, most media has painted our community in a negative light. When I say community, I include everyone who our mainstream media often ignores, diminishes, and casts aside. The Emerald has been here to remind our community of its worth, and that like all emeralds, karat for karat, the people of our community are worth more than gold. Join me in supporting the Emerald as a recurring donor during their 8th anniversary campaign, Ripples & Sparks at Home, April 20–28. Become a Rainmaker today by choosing the “recurring donor” option! —Phillip “Papa” Green, The Publisher’s Dad (and Longtime Community Curmudgeon)
As the process of appointing a new King County sheriff progresses, local activists and leaders are looking to make sure that past issues do not repeat themselves.
Continue reading Local Leaders, Activists React to What They Need in New King County Sheriffby Nura Ahmed
It was election day, Nov. 2, 2019. Hope and anticipation filled the air and Seattle’s communities of color were restless and agitated, facing an unknown future. It was pouring down rain as final results rolled in. Shaun Scott was running on a democratic-socialist platform, alongside many other progressive candidates looking to make a change in our city, county, and state.
I started organizing for progressive candidates that same year. I believed in our electoral system, that politics was the means for achieving liberation. But what I learned instead was that our electoral system has a lot more to do with money than liberation. It was heartbreaking to see grounded-in-community progressives lose because it showed where our power structure’s real interest lies.
It was never in the community. It has always been in protecting corporate interests. It was disheartening and it made me realize that our electoral system was never created for us. The election in 2019 only showed us that City Council elections can be bought.
Continue reading OPINION: Community Is All We Needby Nathalie Graham, Agueda Pacheco Flores, Ashley Archibald, Chetanya Robinson, Marcus Green
Editors’ Note: We will continue to update this article with election updates in the coming days.
Seattle voters appeared to be embracing moderate candidates in key races for mayor, city attorney and City Council, according to early returns Tuesday night.
Updated results as of 11/04/2021
Update 11/05/2021, 1:00 p.m.:
Lorena González conceded the mayor’s race, making Bruce Harrell Seattle’s next mayor.
She tweeted her concession Thursday after election results showed Harrell leading González 62% to 38% with just under 33% of ballots counted.
“With today’s ballot drop, it’s clear that Bruce Harrell will be the next Mayor of Seattle,” she said on @MLorenaGonzalez “Earlier, I called him to congratulate him on a hard-fought race and wished him much luck in his efforts to make progress on the challenges Seattle faces.”
Update 11/04/2021, 4:00 p.m.:
With just under 33% of ballots counted, Bruce Harrell leads Lorena González 62% to 38%.
Bruce Harrell was leading Lorena González 65% to 35% in a race to elect Seattle’s next mayor and potentially set the course on homelessness, policing, affordable housing, and other critical issues facing the city.
Seattle voters found themselves in a similar position Tuesday night to election nights past: Should the electorate choose a moderate Democrat or a progressive to steer the city?
Continue reading Seattle and King County General Election Resultsby Sean Goode
Several years ago, I sat in my South Seattle office frustrated at what I believed, at the time, was a misguided mission to stop the building of the new youth jail. It wasn’t that I thought our kids needed to be incarcerated. Rather, because the new facility was already being built, I believed that energy spent to protest the build should be used to combat the many other inequities perpetrated upon the Black community in Martin Luther King Jr. County.
Continue reading OPINION: Why I Support Nikkita Oliver for City Councilby Emerald staff
In a marathon session, more than 100 37th District Democrats met for nearly five hours on Zoom on the evening of Monday, Sept. 13, to make the organization’s general election endorsements. Endorsements require a 60% majority and included:
Continue reading 37th District Dems Endorse Thomas-Kennedy for City Attorney, No Mayoral EndorsementThe 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.
LIVE — Nikkita Oliver of Creative Justice | LIVE — Marc Dones of KC Regional Homelessness Authority | Youth Achievement Center | The State of Homelessness in King County | Early Black Pioneers in Seattle
Continue reading The Morning Update Show — 8/18/21The 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.
Election Results: What Does Seattle Really Want? | Harrell or Gonzalez for Mayor? | Oliver and Nelson to Face Off for Position 9 | LIVE — Besa Gordon of KUBE 93.3 and Converge Media | LIVE — David Allen of STG Presents | LIVE — Zoser, Recording Artist
Continue reading The Morning Update Show — 8/4/21The Emerald invited top candidates running for Seattle City Council’s District 9 position to tell readers why they deserve South Seattle’s vote. Voters have until Aug. 3 to cast their vote in the primary election.
by Nikkita Oliver
The Souf End is my home and I do mean “Souf.”
My first community organizing experiences were at Graham Elementary School where I served as the program assistant, and later program director, of the Mekong Learning Center. As a Black student and educator, I have experienced anti-Blackness and school pushout in our education system. Black, Native, and brown youth targeted by the school-to-prison-to-deportation pipeline taught me how important it is to trust their brilliance in improving their educational experiences in the classroom and after-school. Working alongside our South End students and families, I learned how to center the needs of those most impacted by systemic oppression in our solution-building and policy-making.
Continue reading Why I’m the Best Candidate for South Seattle: Nikkita Oliverby Chamidae Ford
On the cusp of their one-year anniversary, the Emerald Youth Organizing Collective (EYOC) has become one of the foremost youth collectives in the area, having recently endorsed Nikkita Oliver for Seattle City Council.
EYOC began to take shape during Kirsten Harris-Talley’s campaign last summer. The founder, Andrew Hong, was working as a field organizer and went on to start the campaign’s youth team.
“After Kirsten won the election, we thought we had a good structure and continued interest so we rebranded to Emerald Youth Organizing Collective a few months later,” Hong said. “We continued doing work mostly in the state Legislature but we also did some community work too, and now we’re rapidly expanding the projects we do.”
Continue reading Youth Groups Host Mutual Aid Event for Rainier Beach
