Like Fine Wine, Black Joy Over Time: The Necessity of Black Joy Narratives to Black Liberation by Nacala Ayele As a Joy Actualization Coach for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, I define joy as the internal sense of well-being, satisfaction, and contentment that is independent of external circumstances. For… [ Keep reading ]
Reimagining Black History Month by Reagan Jackson The earliest memory I have of celebrating Black History Month was in the fourth grade. I attended a predominantly white school in Middleton, Wisconsin. One day my mom noticed my backpack was much heavier than usual. She asked why I was taking so… [ Keep reading ]
Marsha Tolon, Burke-Gilman P-Patch What sparked your interest in gardening? When I was a kid, our family would go to the grocery store, and I would always go to the magazine aisle and look at gardening and flower magazines like Sunset Western Garden. I’d read them while everybody else was… [ Keep reading ]
Girma Toke, Westcrest P-Patch How long have you been gardening at the Westcrest P-Patch? I am from Ethiopia and have been here in Seattle for six years. I have been at the garden for two years. At the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic, I was laid off from my work…. [ Keep reading ]
The CD By Princess Shareef My parents migrated to Seattle from Texas in 1948 along with many other African American families after WWII. My father, a veteran, used his VA loan and bought the house on Alder Street for $28,000. He and other Black men worked in the shipyards unloading… [ Keep reading ]
The Black Farmers Collective is a group of urban food system activists working to improve the health of Black communities through food justice and sovereignty. Their mission is to build a Black-led network of food system actors to acquire and steward land, facilitate food education, and create space for Black… [ Keep reading ]
I remember my morning drive to Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School. We would always take the “Lake Way” known to most as Lake Washington Blvd. On those morning drives, I would study architecture. I would study the houses that lined the Boulevard and anticipate my favorites. I loathed mornings…. [ Keep reading ]
Founded in 2007, Clean Greens Farm and Market is a small nonprofit organization established by Black Dollar Days Task Force to provide education around food justice and healthy eating and to grow and supply fresh produce at affordable prices to low-income families. They also organize a youth program that gives… [ Keep reading ]
by Chelsey Richardson Dear Seattle, It is difficult to write to you as if I am not saying goodbye. I am trying to conceptualize a future with you, but one cannot see tomorrow without first examining today. You are named after a Chief who was known as a warrior. A name… [ Keep reading ]
The Importance of Black History Month by Yodahe Maaza A problem in Seattle, and many other places, that needs to be addressed is mental health within Black communities. There is an omnipresent stigma in the Black community around mental health. There is no talk about it, just silence, making individuals… [ Keep reading ]
