Dozens of families representing up to four generations gathered for the 51st ROOTS (Relatives of Old Timers) Family Celebration at Jimi Hendrix Park on Sunday, Sept. 3. Although the wind and ominous gray skies were a departure from the stretch of recent sunny days, ROOTS attendees weren’t going to let the clouds ruin their fun. The annual summer gathering brings together Seattle’s original Black families for fun, food, connection, and the renewing of old friendships.
Families who went to Rainier Beach Action Coalition’s Back2School Bash, in its 20th year, found more than just free school supplies — a host of services and vendors, food, and entertainment around supporting and celebrating children and families in Rainier Beach.
A little drizzle didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the thousands of people who showed up for the annual Umoja Fest, Africatown Heritage Festival & Parade on Saturday, Aug. 5. The two-day festival has been a part of Seafair weekend for decades, and there has been an annual parade in the community for 70 years.
Joy, just like the music, reverberated throughout the Garfield High School gym as Bubblin Brown Sugar — the long-standing Seattle high school dance contest — got underway on Saturday, June 17.
Despite a typical “Juneuary” day in Seattle, thousands of people attended the Juneteenth Celebration at Jimi Hendrix Park on June 19. The second year since Juneteenth became recognized as a federal holiday, and the first time the event was held without COVID-19 restrictions, brought out lots of people in the mood to celebrate.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
