Tag Archives: Susan Fried

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PHOTO ESSAY | MLK March 2023

The Seattle Martin Luther King Jr. Organizing Coalition celebrates “40 Years of Continuing King’s Mission”

by Susan Fried

After two years of being unable to use Garfield High School due to pandemic restrictions, the Seattle Martin Luther King Jr. Organizing Coalition took full advantage of access this year. On the 40th anniversary of the MLK March and Rally on Monday, Jan. 16, the coalition hosted a jobs fair, workshops, and a huge rally in the high school gym. The weather turned out to be beautiful for the thousands of people who marched from Garfield, with a brief stop at the King County Juvenile Detention Center, to Jimi Hendrix Park by the Northwest African American Museum (NAAM) where another small rally was held. 

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Holidays Around the South End – 2022

by Susan Fried

Despite a brief interlude of freezing rain and icy roads that made it difficult to travel around Seattle, people made it out to a variety of holiday events that took place around the South End. There were Christmas events, Hanukkah concerts, holiday markets, and Kwanzaa celebrations throughout the month of December. Children visited Santa, parents shopped for presents from local artisans and makers, and people of all ages enjoyed live music and dance performances.

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Cheering for the Cheerleaders: The Northwest Premier Junior Football Cheer Competition

by Susan Fried

The gym inside Mount Rainier High School in Des Moines reverberated with the sounds of family, friends, and fans trying to out-cheer each other during the Northwest Premier Junior Football (NWPJF) Cheer Competition. Six teams, including their minis (the youngest teams), competed for trophies and the pride of being the best cheer squad in the league: the CD Panthers, Benson Bruins, Renton Rangers, 5 Star, Jr. Huskies, and HEIR Academy.

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T’Challaween 2022: The Emerald’s Halloween Event Drew More Superheroes Than Ever

by Susan Fried

Dozens of little superheroes, astronauts, princesses, ghosts, witches, and every other imaginable creature — and their parents — descended on Beacon Hill near Jefferson Park on Oct. 29 for the third annual T’Challaween — A South End Tribute to Our Heroes. The mile-long trick-or-treat event started at 18th and College and ended at Jefferson Park with numerous treat stops along the way. The South End Public Market’s “Moon Market” at Jefferson Park ended the celebration. In addition to the tent stops where volunteers handed out candy, several neighbors had created ingenious candy chutes and a swinging skeleton that distributed sweets to those brave enough to approach it. 

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PHOTO ESSAY | Honoring a Seattle Icon: Pastor Patrinell Wright

by Susan Fried

Over the 25 years I’ve worked as a photojournalist, I’ve photographed Pastor Patrinell Wright and the Total Experience Gospel Choir literally hundreds of times. Pat and the TEGC seemed to be at almost every event I covered. They sang at the annual July 4 Naturalization Ceremony at Seattle Center, the gathering of Black families called the ROOTS Family Celebration, the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration at Garfield High School — basically any meaningful event in Seattle, Pat and her choir were there. 

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PHOTO ESSAY | Celebrating 100 Years of Garfield High School

by Susan Fried

After a two-year delay and several years of planning, Garfield High School (GHS) celebrated its centennial on Saturday, Aug. 27. Hundreds of graduates from classes representing the 1940s to the 2020s showed up to show their Bulldog pride. At mini reunions, classmates who hadn’t seen each other in years hugged, reminisced about their high school days, and talked about their lives since graduation. The joy and excitement people exuded from reconnecting with old friends was palpable.

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PHOTO ESSAY | Umoja Fest 2022 Celebrates Black Unity and Love

by Susan Fried

Last weekend, thousands turned out for Umoja Fest, Seattle’s iconic annual celebration of Black love and unity that started over 70 years ago. Taking place in Judkins park Aug. 5–7, the festival featured hundreds of vendors, DJs, live performances, a Children’s Village, arts activities, a football scrimmage, and a parade on Saturday, Aug. 6. The Africatown Heritage Parade started on Cherry Street and moved down to Judkins Park. Marching bands, dance groups, Buffalo Soldiers, and many more took part, with enthusiastic spectators lining the streets to cheer them on. 

Check out some scenes of this year’s Umoja Fest and the parade below.

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Community

Seattle Pride Parade Returns After a Two-Year Hiatus

by Susan Fried

Thousands of people gathered on 4th Avenue in Downtown Seattle on Sunday, June 26, for the 46th annual Seattle Pride Parade. The largest parade held annually in Washington had been on hiatus for the last two years due to COVID-19 restrictions, making this year’s parade all the more special. Over 200 organizations and groups participated in this year’s parade, and crowds of jubilant, colorfully dressed people lined the streets to cheer them on. 

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Community

PHOTO ESSAY: Honoring Our Black Wall Streets Expo Celebrates Black-Owned Businesses in Seattle

by Susan Fried

On a rare almost-sunny day in May, the Africatown Community Land Trust honored the 101st anniversary of the Black Wall Street massacre in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by celebrating Black business and entrepreneurship in Seattle. 

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Seattle Stands in Solidarity With Buffalo

by Susan Fried

Content Warning: This article contains discussion of gun violence.

Editor’s Note: It seems incomprehensible that while still reeling from the Buffalo, New York, killings on May 14, another tragedy took place yesterday when 19 elementary school children and two teachers were slain in Texas. The epidemic of gun violence and the targeting of Black, Brown, Indigenous, and People of Color is one of the most devastating and horrific elements in our country. The Emerald recognizes these harrowing events and acknowledges the difficulty in reporting on what feels like a constant cycle of tragedy. 

After recently wrapping up our partnership with the Beloved campaign, which examines gun violence as a public health crisis, we will remain committed to covering this issue of critical importance to our local communities and beyond.

A week after an 18-year-old self-proclaimed white supremacist shot 13, killing 10 Black, mostly elderly people in Buffalo, New York, Seattle held two vigils on Saturday, May 21, to honor those whose lives were taken.

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