Tag Archives: Regional Peacekeepers Collective

Regional Peacekeepers Seek to Keep Community Members — and Hope — Alive

by Rosette Royale

The Emerald is a blueprint to showing, sharing, and bridging Black and Brown folks through the power of storytelling. The Emerald is what we should be truly striving for as a community. Don’t just talk about it. Create a way to practice and be about us coming together. The Emerald is setting the example. 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 on the donation page!

—Sharon Nyree Williams, Artist, Orator, & Rainmaker

Everyone lost to gun violence is someone’s beloved.  Beloved is a multi-media campaign exploring gun violence in-depth in four phases: The Problem of gun violence as a symptom of illness (or infection) caused by systemic inequality; The History of gun violence, root causes, and local and national data trends. The Solutions to end gun violence including King County Public Health’s regional approach to gun violence prevention and treatments; and finally, the ideation of a world without gun violence, The Beloved Community. The Beloved project is brought to you in partnership with Seattle Office of Arts & Culture Hope Corps program, King County’s Public Health team, Converge Media, Black Coffee Northwest, Toybox Consulting, Creative Justice, The Facts Newspaper, Forever Safe Spaces, Northwest African American Museum, Presidential Media, and the South Seattle Emerald.


When a gunshot is fired in King County, Khalid Adams finds out through an alert on his phone. Then his time as a violence interrupter begins.

Continue reading Regional Peacekeepers Seek to Keep Community Members — and Hope — Alive

Mayor Durkan Announces Community-Based Programs, Responding to Gun Violence Spike

by Lizz Giordano and Andrew Engelson


As shootings spike in King County, disproportionately impacting Communities of Color, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan announced last week the City will distribute $12.4 million to organizations working to curb gun violence and improve safety in BIPOC communities. 

The year 2020 was particularly deadly for Seattle, recording the highest number of homicides in more than a quarter century. This past weekend, a series of shootings in Belltown, Pioneer Square, the Chinatown-International District, and Yesler Terrace left five people dead and nine injured according to the Seattle Police Department (SPD). In a press conference on Monday, July 26, Durkan said the violence was part of a surge in homicides across the United States. 

“This weekend delivered a sober reminder that Seattle is not immune from gun violence,” Durkan said during the press conference. “This is a national crisis. Over the past week, from Chicago to Minneapolis to Washington, D.C., there have been over 900 shooting incidents.”

Continue reading Mayor Durkan Announces Community-Based Programs, Responding to Gun Violence Spike

NEWS GLEAMS: County Reaches 70% Vaccination, Free Youth Tennis Clinic, SPL Reopenings, & More!

curated by Emerald Staff

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


King County Completes 70% Vaccination, Local Health Officer’s Mask Directive to End June 29

From the source: “King County Executive Dow Constantine announced on Tuesday, June 15, that 70% of King County residents have completed their COVID-19 vaccine series — the largest county in the nation to reach 70% among adult residents. The first vaccines were administered in King County six months ago on Dec. 16, and King County initially set a goal to vaccinate 70% of its eligible population by the end of June.

“With more than 1.3 million residents over age 16 completing their vaccine series, the community vaccination level will also end the Local Health Officer mask directive in two weeks on June 29.

“Public Health – Seattle & King County will continue working to close vaccination disparities with outreach to communities that remain under the 70% threshold, including areas of south King County as well as the Black and Hispanic communities.”

For more information about the King County Indoor Masking Directive, visit the following Public Health – Seattle & King county webpage.

Continue reading NEWS GLEAMS: County Reaches 70% Vaccination, Free Youth Tennis Clinic, SPL Reopenings, & More!