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Black History Month: Communion

Chef Kristi Brown rose to culinary fame in the area with her “Seattle Soul” food. She defines the cuisine as “rooted in tradition with innovations based on experiences and influences from Seattle’s lush cultural landscape.” A graduate of Seattle Culinary Academy, Brown started the catering business and culinary brand That… [ Keep reading ]

Black History Month: Roberta Byrd Barr

Roberta Byrd Barr’s career path was anything but a straight line. As an educator, civil rights leader, actor, librarian, and T.V. personality, she awakened the Seattle community to civil rights and social justice issues often overlooked in mainstream media. As a Seattle Public Schools elementary teacher in 1966, she headed… [ Keep reading ]

Black History Month: Black & Tan Hall

The term “black and tan” originated in Harlem to identify clubs where patrons of all races were welcome despite segregation laws. The Black & Tan Club in Seattle opened in the early 1920s and operated for nearly five decades. The popular venue was located at 12th and Jackson. Originally named… [ Keep reading ]

Black History Month: Vickie Williams

When Vickie Williams opened the doors to the first Black-owned bookstore in Washington more than 20 years ago, she had a vision. She envisioned a place where the Black community could gather safely to learn about their heritage and empower each other. Located in Columbia City, Life Enrichment Bookstore (L.E.M.S)… [ Keep reading ]

Black History Month: Tougo Coffee

Since opening in 2007, Tougo Coffee has endured a slew of uphill battles. The shop has survived an economic recession, gentrification, a global pandemic, and a recent robbery-as if running a Mom and Pop coffee shop in a corporate coffee city isn’t hard enough. Through it all, owner Brian Wells… [ Keep reading ]

Black History Month: The Original Philly’s

After failing to find an authentic Philly cheesesteak in the Seattle, Philadelphia native Charles Humphrie opened The Original Philly’s. The restaurant, affectionately know to regulars as simply Philly’s, open its doors in 1995, slinging the iconic meal near 23rd and Union in the Central District. In 2005, Charles and his… [ Keep reading ]

Black History Month: Rev. Dr. Samuel B. McKinney

When Martin Luther King Jr. visited Seattle in 1961, he gave a speech at Garfield High School titled “The American Dream.” The address included several lines that would later be woven into his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. King’s only trip to Seattle was made possible because of an… [ Keep reading ]

BUILD 2021 works to unite, engage, and inspire local Black leaders

During the winter of 2013, the topic of conversation for many Seattleites centered around the Seahawks as they marched toward their first championship. When people gathered in the streets of downtown to celebrate the team’s Super Bowl win, six African American men congregated elsewhere to discuss something else occurring in… [ Keep reading ]

Reimagine Seattle: ChrisTiana ObeySumner

Hindsight – Reflections on 2020 by ChrisTiana ObeySumner I have been calling 2020 the “existential master class in inequity” because it was the year that the universe kept pelting society in the face with glaringly obvious injustices and systemic violence towards communities who’ve been trying to tell us this whole… [ Keep reading ]

Reimagine Seattle: Henry Liu

words & video by Henry Liu In response to COVID-19, I started a project of delivering culturally appropriate groceries and providing internet services to over 1,000 marginalized families living in Chinatown. To ensure the grocery items meet the dietary needs of my ethnically-diverse audiences, I telecommunicate with housing managers, residents,… [ Keep reading ]