by Kayla Blau
Willard Jimerson described his cousin Emijah Smith as, “Selfless, caring, altruistic, a shining example of what it really means to support community…superwoman!” If you’ve been in organizing spaces in Seattle, you’ve likely witnessed Smith’s strength and wisdom in action, or at least heard her name.
photos by Naomi Ishisaka, report by Emerald Staff
Standing under a banner that read “Love the youth, hate the jail,” activists called for continued resistance to King County’s existing youth criminal justice strategies, including the construction of a new youth jail at 12th Avenue and Alder Street.
Continue reading PHOTOS: Valentine’s Day Rally Loves the Youth and Hates the Jail
by Susan Fried
El Centro de la Raza to unveiled and dedicated a bust of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Plaza Roberto Maestas on Feb. 1, the first day of Black History Month. The bust was a gift from the sculpture Jeff Day.
Continue reading El Centro Unveils Bronze Bust of Martin Luther King Jr.
by Carolyn Bick
Just a few years ago, Black Lives Matter at School was a Seattle-area-only day of action. Now, it has become a national, week-long movement, with almost 30 cities and hundreds of schools participating.
Continue reading Black Lives Matter at School Grew from Local Event to National Movement
by Sharayah Lane
As Carl Livingston stood behind the curtain, he took deep breaths, prayed and worked (in vain) to calm his nerves. In a few moments he, a Black man, would be going out in front of hundreds to debate a white man on the merits of Affirmative Action in the state of Washington.
Continue reading Affirmative Action Returning to Washington Ballots
by Carolyn Bick
The Refugee Women’s Alliance (ReWA) will soon be able to offer expanded services and new programs for the more than 12,000 families it serves annually once its headquarters’ renovation is complete.
Continue reading Renovated Headquarters Expands the Reach of the Refugee Women’s Alliance
by ChrisTiana ObeySumner
After more than a decade advocating for Intersectional Disability Justice, I received the honor of being voted the first Co-Chair of the Seattle Disabilities Commission who identifies as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color. Ever since, I have turbo-charged my advocacy and study of intersectional disability and fought for the amplification of voices and lived experiences of people whose intersectionality included one or more disability, a non-White racial identity, and other socially marginalized intersections. This work has also brought to light the horrendous lack of awareness or representation of intersectionally disabled people — especially Black Autistic folks like myself.
Continue reading Black Autistics Exist: An Argument for Intersectional Disability Justice
by Got Green Executive Director Jill Mangaliman
Growing up in Seattle, I was a youth who didn’t feel like I had a future. It was a feeling that I was heading into a dead end and failing in this economy, that I couldn’t take care of myself and my family. I felt alone in this feeling, stuck and exhausted. It wasn’t until I joined Got Green in 2009, that I started to feel like my presence and opinions mattered, that I didn’t need a masters degree or a fancy title to advocate for my community. Through the environmental justice movement and being supported by our elders, I found we were the experts of our conditions and community was most qualified to come up with the solutions because we were living and breathing the conditions ourselves.
Continue reading OPINION: Green Pathways Means So Much More Than Just Jobs
by Bypolar
The theme of this year’s “Thanksgiving” is fascism, as many sit around their warmly lit dining room tables. Slicing into steaming turkey, enjoying the company of friends and family, and engaging with or escaping the reality of the fascist ideologies consuming the present narrative. Hiding from or facing the reality of this ideological plague that’s spreading through this land — no, this world. Most dwelling on President Donald Trump’s apparent links to white nationalists and letting the conversation stop there if, if it even happens at all.
Story and Photos by Susan Fried
Hundreds of people filled the Franklin High School commons on Nov. 9 to await the official unveiling of the Franklin High School Art of Resistance and Resilience Club’s 40-foot mural commemorating the Seattle Chapter of the Black Panther’s 50th Anniversary. Members of the Art of Resistance & Resilience, a social and environmental justice-oriented art club at Franklin, have been working on the mural since January and were able to display a portion of it at the SCBP 50th Anniversary Celebration in April.
Continue reading PHOTOS: Students Unveil Mural Commemorating Seattle Black Panther Party
