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John T Williams
Ariel Rosenfield
Eric Blaine Evans
Henry Lee Sr.
James D. Anderson
Jack Sun Keewatinawin
Russell Lydell Smith
Leonard Thomas
Joel D. Reuter
Martin A. Duckworth
Leonid Kalyuzhnyy
Andrew Law
Cody Spafford
Jonathan K. Whitehead
Oscar Perez Giron
Ariel Rosenfield
Eric Blaine Evans
Henry Lee Sr.
James D. Anderson
Jack Sun Keewatinawin
Russell Lydell Smith
Leonard Thomas
Joel D. Reuter
Martin A. Duckworth
Leonid Kalyuzhnyy
Andrew Law
Cody Spafford
Jonathan K. Whitehead
Oscar Perez Giron
Austin J. Derby
Larry Andrew Flynn
Stephen Johnston
Samuel Smith
Raymond Azevedo
Shun Ma
Che Andre Taylor
Michael L. Taylor
Damarius Butts
Charleena Lyles
Kyle Gray
Jason Seavers
Iosia Faletogo
Danny Rodriguez
Ryan Smith
Shaun Fuhr
Terry Caver
Larry Andrew Flynn
Stephen Johnston
Samuel Smith
Raymond Azevedo
Shun Ma
Che Andre Taylor
Michael L. Taylor
Damarius Butts
Charleena Lyles
Kyle Gray
Jason Seavers
Iosia Faletogo
Danny Rodriguez
Ryan Smith
Shaun Fuhr
Terry Caver
These are the people whose lives were taken in the last decade by police in Seattle. Today is not just about breaking the cycle of police violence, but creating a new system of community safety that centers mental wellness, prosperity, and safety for all.
The budget should be a living, moral document that allows the most vulnerable communities not merely to live, but to thrive. I am reminded how we got here-to this very moment- in the first place.
COVID-19 has taken over 700 lives in King County; it has ended thousands of jobs and small-businesses, and has created uncertainty in the present and future. Covid has widened the already large gap between white and Black, Indigenous, and communities of color;
... between the rich and wealthy and the working-class/poor; the housed and the houseless; those with well-funded education and the families with disinvested education; and those capitalizing on disaster gentrification and those being displaced in droves.
COVID has exposed our upside-down economic system, our punishment system, and our racist system.
So, we are at a crossroads in the final months of 2020. Do we invest in the communities long left behind for the past 400 plus years?
So, we are at a crossroads in the final months of 2020. Do we invest in the communities long left behind for the past 400 plus years?
Do we fight white supremacy and undo the racism woven in all of our documents? Or do we walk back months of work we and our staff have done in collaboration with community? We’re trying to carry forward what was built on years of work of BIPOC organizers. The choice is clear.
We owe our Black, Brown and Indigenous communities about 400 years worth of investments.
We must put dollars behind words. It is time to lift up the solutions that those closest to the problem have long known.
We must put dollars behind words. It is time to lift up the solutions that those closest to the problem have long known.
Overriding the Mayor’s veto of this moral document is not enough, it is only the beginning, but it is an important step to right the wrongs and injustices communities have long endured.
Our community is demanding that the City Council listen to their cries and their calls for transformative change. That is not unreasonable and listening to them does not make us amateurs, it makes us accountable.
