State of Black Community in COVID-19 | Community Conference

Black community leaders, members, and elected officials will address the State of Black Community in COVID-19, and present the collective demand to allocate federal American Relief Plan Act (ARPA) funding equitably. Specifically, community leaders are calling on the City of Seattle and Martin Luther King Jr. County to invest at least $300 million dollars from the recently awarded ARPA funding directly into the local Black community in Martin Luther King Jr. County.

Transcript

TraeAnna Holiday 0:11

All right, welcome everybody to our community conference on the state of black community in COVID-19. I'm going to be the facilitator for today's community conference. And so I welcome you into our space, as we have an amazing lineup of folks that are going to be speaking about the necessary need for investment in particular segments that are going to benefit Black community. And I want to start with some context here for all of you. And we have Isaac Joy, who will be joining us with a little bit more context and diving deeper. But as we look at certain examples of how the city or county or state, just government in general, federal government, how a lot of times there's very particular measures that cause the need for these investments into particular communities. And we're here talking about the Black community. And so when I look at the history of so many different ways that Black community has been divested from, and then it literally creating opportunities for others to come in and take over certain investment opportunities that excluded the Black community, we understand that historically, there is a need that is, that has been set up, there's a void that's been created, that now we have Black organizations, Black leaders, stepping into that void to fill it, because it was on us to create the solutions. We understood that from the gate. And so now we have an opportunity to look at certain things. And these investments that are coming in at the Seattle city level, and at the King County level, that really can leverage the opportunities that Seattle, the city of Seattle and King County have to lead with regard to direct investment in Black communities. When we were so excited last summer at the opportunity to create a participatory budgeting process that the mayor declared, I'm going to invest $100 million in the Black community. Many people were so excited to hear that, and thought that's what we need. We need a direct injection of investments in a funding and resources so that our solutions can thrive. And then we saw that $100 million get whittled down, to $60 million, $30 million being, you know, led by a task force that the mayor created, and another $30 million that was in the hands of City Council. What we also saw from that process was a research project that brought people together. In our case at King County Equity Now, we knew we wanted a lot of voices to be a part of that. Because it was going to require that all of us really bring our brilliance into something so that the city council could understand how to will this funding that was at their feet. And what we're getting right now, if you guys are following any of this, is unfortunately, it's a more of the yo yo thing that we've been experiencing in Black community where it's like, oh, it's here for you up? No, it's not, up, it's here for you up? No, it's not. And unfortunately, that is where the Black community bears the brunt end of when that investment doesn't come into Black community. So if you're following this, now, there's the new recommendation, you know, they had one recommendation from the research project, they had another recommendation that was given to them by Deputy Mayor Tiffany Washington that didn't get responded to unfortunately. And now there's a new recommendation by Tammy Morales in her office, that is saying this investment needs to go to the Office of Civil Rights for them to then create an RFP process for a group to then figure out how to wield the funding, and that it won't come out until next year, at the earliest. These are the kinds of, you know, opportunities that we really can't afford, that we cannot afford in the Black community. So we have all of these amazing folks here, these panelists that are going to be speaking to you all about the direct need for this investment to occur sooner than later. Because this is not just an investment. When we talk about this money, we have to understand the history. And we have to understand that people are owed these funds. The Black community in particular is really owed these funds. So I just want to share that with you guys. And with that I want to be able to bring in Isaac Joy.

Isaac Joy 4:53

Thank you, Trae, thank you for that intro and thank you for the context. Good afternoon, everyone. We've appreciate you joining us today for the State of the Black Community in the COVID-19 virtual community conference. Want to sit out today and just kind of set some of the context for today's asks, which is specifically calling on Seattle City Council and King County Council to collectively invest $300 million of the American Relief Act, Plan Act funding directly into the Black community. Now, before we started this conference today, kind of walking around the Central District, I was asking myself, you know, Seattle is a city that loves to parade Black Lives Matter signs, I saw many of them on the walk and show for protests, but does Seattle love Black lives? And I think based on every significant metric, the resounding answer is no. King County Equity Now, we often elevate two really core central concepts. The first concept is racial realism, the idea that the Black community is not your year, generation over generation, decade over decade, slowly, incrementally progressing to equity, towards equity. That's actually not what's taking place. If you look at the data, the Black community is stagnant and is on a path of divergence. I think one of the most significant studies to come out is the paper Road to Wealth, which an invited speaker Dedric was actually invited to speak today unfortunately was not able to make it but I think will be involved in future events. And he authored that paper. And it's really significant. It basically states that, you know, if the racial wealth divide is left unaddressed, the median Black household wealth is on a path to hit zero by 2053. And so what does that mean, and this, again, this paper was authored before COVID. Right. And so racial realism, the idea that the Black community is not incrementally moving towards equity, and they actually left addressed, that this is the future, that the same metrics around kind of Black plight of 7% of, you know, Seattle's population 30% of the homeless population, these type of metrics, year over year over year, decade over decade over decade will not change. That is the path that is the experience in reality of the US in perpetuity. And I think there's there's a lot of, to grapple with the depth of that, that reality, what that means for us as a people what that means for us as society, what that means for us, as a city and as a county in terms of what we want to be. So we foreground racial realism, we also elevate another central concept, which is that attacking anti-Black racism is the key to achieving sustained progressive policies in the US. And that's another really core component of this call, by this collective call for investment of $300 million into the Black community will elevate that. But it's not only that, it's owed, that it's necessary that it's needed as urgent, but it's also about efficacy. And when we say efficacy, we're talking about impact the ability of, you know, we have limited resources, and how should we invest those dollars, and actually investing into the Black community attacking anti-Black racism by investing into the Black community to prop up Black led Black-centered equity solutions is the most effective path for sustained progressive policies across the board, not just in the Black community. So that's another core component of what you'll be hearing today.

So that's kind of the background context, a little bit of what we do at King County Equity Now's work weaves, and let's just kind of speak to what this moment is. So this is a generational moment. King County Council is overseeing the largest budget in their history. Similarly, this is a huge influx of capital, coming at the city level, as well. And this is a moment for the city in the county, to take a pause, to think critically, and to make decisions and investments that set the path for the future of this county and this and Seattle and the cities that make up the county. And that this is a this is a pivotal moment is a pivotal moment where we can choose to continue on the old path, the old normal, or we can choose to invest and new solutions and new pathways that have a shot. We know the old pathways. We know the conclusion to that and they don't serve our community. So this is a pivotal moment to shift and rethink how we invest and invest smarter. Invest into the Black community. We know it works. And so I think while there are many reasons the Black community can make a claim to this funding, we want to elevate kind of just four central points. The first point is just kind of the history of what the Black community is owed. So it's truly, it's almost unquantifiable. The recent studies, it's multiple levels above trillions in terms of when you think of the free Black labor, and that the enslaved population built the wealth of this country, which allow for the infrastructure, which set up the entire context for any and everything to be able to thrive off of that. And so every day, every week that that debt is not paid, is not, it's not is, the Black community feels that pain feels that disinvestment, is reeling from the impacts of that outstanding debt daily. So I think that's the first thing to contextualize the Black community is owed trillions and trillions, quintillions of dollars. That's not an exaggeration, or hyperbolic and the lack, and not that this country specifically owes the black community. And that when the Black community, the lack of that, of that outstanding balance at the Black community carries that every day, every day, we carry the violence of that balance not being paid. So the Black committee has a very specific historical claim to receiving investment now, then we have a very disparate impact claim. So we know that decades and decades and decades of anti-Black racism set the tone for the Black community to be completely vulnerable. For something like a pandemic when it comes through to wreak havoc, which it has. More fatalities, more deaths, more joblessness, more poverty, all of these things that are coming along with it, that now the Black community has to face on top of a situation where Black wealth was already on a path to reach zero by 2050. Now on top of that, we have all the trauma created by COVID place on top of the community on top of that. And when we get to the original question does Seattle, does King County love Black Lives, I think it's very counting that in that state, in a state where the Black community was already on a path to achieve zero wealth, is getting really impacted by COVID.

I think in America, we show values via investment resources, where dollars are put. And so in the backdrop of that trauma that was taking place in 2020, that's continuing to this day, the government, we made decisions, we elevated and we found resources to go into the communities that were suffering by COVID. And provide relief. And one of the first traunches and ways that we could get funding into the Black community was through the Paycheck Protection Program, which was the first tranche a half a trillion dollars went out, half a trillion dollars went out to provide aid to our collective communities, dealing with COVID. And even though the Black community had zero wealth, even though the Black community was desperately impacted by COVID, America did not provide those resources to the Black community. The Black community was almost wholesale excluded from receiving that aid. That is a huge story in 2020. Not only that was a decision that was a, again, an inflection point where we could have made we made a choice. And that decision, that influx of COVID-19 aid actually exacerbated the wealth gap. How ironic is that? How ironic and how telling is that of our county, of our state, and our country. So that we also the Black community has a very specific financial claim to this further insists, continued COVID relief, given that our communities were almost wholesale excluded from previous COVID relief aid. And then finally which, and then I'll really kind of pass it off to kind of our esteemed panelists today that can really elevate this last point better than I can. And it's about impact and effectiveness. And again, this is to the point where a lot of this aid and we're, we're talking about this funding with the city and what the county needs. A lot of the needs that we hear elevated are common needs that you would hear if you are if you live in Seattle and King County fordable housing, more social services.

The types of services really servicing folks, a broad majority of people in our economy, society that are not doing well. They're not doing well, for a number of reasons, a myriad of reasons, a myriad of reasons, most importantly, that our society in a lot of ways does not provide effective paths for people to do well. That makes sense, that makes sense. Let's provide aid, let's provide resources to address and make our society more equitable. What doesn't make sense is taking this generational moment and influx of capital, and taking that capital and re circulating in the same white-led white-centered organizations that service a predominantly Black, non-white population, that makes no sense. It makes no sense in this pivotal moment to take this funding and direct it and channel it into white-led organizations that have no accountability to the Black community, have no accountability based on track record, based on their ability to effectively decade over decade, reduce or diminish or improve the material conditions of Black people. We're not seeing that we're not seeing that in objective data, we're not seeing that in anecdotal data. So there's the negative decision if we can make smart or bad decisions, the negative decision of choosing to again, invest, that's an anti-black decision, to invest in white-led, white-centric models that are serving predominantly Black and non white people that aren't serving them well, are not serving them well based on measures of success that those communities put up. And so that's the negative part. And then the positive part is there are so many amazing live, real Black-led equity solutions to fund right now. It's this 300 million could have absorbed instantly, and I don't want to this 300 million is nowhere need what's needed in the King County Black community. But it's needed-- it's a important start, but it would be absorbed immediately. We have land acquisition projects, there's currently in Washington State there is zero Black owned or controlled health clinics, we have folks that are trying to create Black-led and Black controlled health clinics, we have very few Black owned and Black controlled educational institutions, we have folks that are trying to make huge headway in those spaces, we have very few controlled Black land, there are 10s, and multiples of Black land acquisition projects that span from urban farming to youth, kind of at risk programming and achievement centers to the first really upscale shelter service, Black led, Black controlled building, facility and kind of model in the state so that there are live, active, underfunded, critically underfunded equity solutions right now that would not only service our, our communities better in the near term, but set ourselves up. So when we're thinking about how do we make these decisions, looking back 10, 15, 20 years from now, where are we at? And this is an opportunity to not only address the near term needs of our communities, but also base build necessary institutions that set our communities up to be in a different space 10, 15, 20 years from now. Understanding the goal is not for our community, the Black community to be advocating in 2030, 2040 in the same position, in the same position. And this is not, this is not guaranteed. These are not constants. These are things that we can move in and we can choose. But we have to take accountability, collectively, everyone on this call, and anyone in this county, collectively, we have to take accountability for the state of our county or the state of our cities. And these are the decisions that lead to that. So here's a moment and we'll elevate these opportunities. But here's a moment where we have to choose differently, we have to choose differently. And if you choose to go down the old normal path, then you need to be held accountable for that, and held accountable specific to the Black community, a community Black community that has arguably one of the largest claims to make in terms of what it is owed. Who's built the wealth and infrastructure of this space, but who, also Black organizing it through organizing for our own collective, and collective liberation has really set the path for America's progressive policies in terms of advancing progressive policies for everyone. And so with that, I appreciate everyone attending this call. I appreciate the urgency in which they understand this matter in this moment. And I appreciate folks after this call understanding, people staying engaged and staying tapped in to ensure that as much of this investment right now gets into the Black community where it's needed. Thank you.

TraeAnna Holiday 19:48

Thank you so much, Isaac. Really appreciate you know, you bringing that perspective here and really setting the tone for the rest of our panelists to bring forth the projects and the activities and services that they know work, and that they are experts of. And with that, I want to start us off with Miss Jackie Vaughn.

Jackie Vaughn 20:14

Thank you so much King County Equity Now for having me today, I'm really honored to be here with fellow Black organizers who are doing such amazing work here in Seattle and King County. So my name is Jackie Vaughn, I'm the Executive Director of Surge Reproductive Justice. We're a Black queer led organization based in South East Seattle. And we work on issues that are centered in a reproductive justice framework that span from Black perinatal health to decriminalizing sex work. And we particularly look at how these issues are rooted in systemic, anti-Black racism at the intersection of gender based violence. And looking back historically on how so much of the violence and systemic oppression that we see at the foundation of systems and institutions here in the US are directly related to the experiences of Black women, Black femmes and Black, queer and trans folks. And so as part of our thought, lineage at Surge Reproductive Justice, we rely heavily on the work of Dr. Angela Davis. And really looking at how she describes the idea of abolition democracy, and thinking about how all of these systems here in the US are rooted in racism, rooted in violence, and that when we think of abolition, we think of not only the tearing down of these current institutions and systems, but the building up and what that truly means to build up institutions and systems that work for everyone. And we know at Surge, that the key to that is understanding specifically and being very clear of how anti-Black racism at the intersection of gender based violence has been perpetuated over all of these years. And so part of the work that we do, specifically around Black perinatal health, we organize with Black birth workers and Black birthing folks

in our community here in Seattle and King County. And we really see that work that we do around birth justice in the Black community, as what I like to explain to folks about some of the organizing history here in Seattle, that I was taught around the No New Youth Jail, and when our elder Aaron Dixon was speaking with the No New Youth Jail, about the Panthers and how they have the idea and use this philosophy, that 75% of the time, we use our energy and our capacity to build up the realm that it is that we want, and 25% of the time engaging with these systems and institutions and taking them down. And so for us at Surge, we see the work that we're doing to address the disparities that we see in Black perinatal health, across the board, nationally and locally, here in our state and city and county of the disparities that Black birthing people experience compared to white folks and non Black birthing people here in King County. And for us, the organizing that we do with Black birth workers is that 75% of the time because we know that not only our prison industrial complex needs to be abolished, but the healthcare system is also one of the systems and institutions that is actively killing our community, particularly Black birthing folks and our babies. And so we see the work that we do and organizing to support the leadership and building up the infrastructure of Black led birthing institutions. And the pipeline of Black birth workers into the workforce is that 75% of the time that if we can divest as much as possible from the medical industrial complex, and lift up and center, the birthing experience for both our birthing parents and their children back into our community, that the work of birth workers is ancestral. It's something that we've done for many generations, but has been interrupted when the birthing process became medicalized and mandated to go into the medical industrial complex. And so currently, we've been working on a Black perinatal health campaign that we launched this year that this has really come about, through the relational organizing that we've done with Black birth workers, to think about currently, we don't have Black led birthing institutions here in the city of Seattle particularly. We see a lot of funding, going to address Black prenatal health to either non Black POC or white-led institutions that only perpetuate that same level of anti Black racism at the intersection on gender based violence. That we don't see the closing in that in those disparities between Black working folks, and non Nlack working folks. And so this campaign is a process in which we have been working with our community to create our vision, our plans, our proposals of what Black led, black centered, birthing institutions would look like, and doing it through a collective process with community that stresses as much the organizing process as the result. And so when I think about what Isaac and TraeAnna shared that like, with this $300 million, we could invest immediately we could invest today, there's so much brilliance that our Black birth workers hold on how to effectively serve our communities, we know the violence that exists, and the medical industrial complex, and how it's been exasperated with COVID-19. The same violence that we've seen historically in the Black community, between with Black working folks and our families plays out today. And I want to just share a short story of the experiences that we've heard particularly under COVID-19 that will help to eliminate just how white supremacy and patriarchy only repackages itself over time that during at the beginning of COVID-19, where we had less information of how it impacted Black birthing people in their children, that hospitals here in the Seattle King County area, have a lot of discretion on the different policies they're able to make. And so before we had all the information about COVID-19, and how it gets passed from the birthing parent to the baby, that there were hospitals that were putting out policies that if you tested positive for COVID, you should stay quarantined away from your baby for two weeks. And for those of you who may not be aware about perinatal health, that that immediate time after birth, is critical to establish that lifelong connection, and mental health between the birthing parent and the baby, specifically that skin to skin contact, which is something that historically, our communities have been denied or interrupted because of institutional and structural racism, and thinking about the experiences of our ancestors during slavery and what birth was like then. And so with these hospital recommendations that people should be quarantined, we started to hear stories of disproportionately Black birthing people that those recommendations sounded more like orders. And we know the history of separation of families and children and the Black community and to see it play out during COVID-19. To see the restrictions on how many people birthing folks were able to bring during that time. I don't know how many people are in the crowd or on the panel, but I know when I had my, my baby, that I wanted everyone that I needed to be my support system. And if I would have been in a situation where someone would have told me who I could or could not have in the room with me when my daughter was born, I would not have been able to go with that because I needed my support system. Our Black birthing folks, they need their support systems during this time. And on the other side of that we also saw that when it came to Black birth workers a disproportionate amount of Black birth workers not being able to serve their families during cold COVID-19. Although the governor had listed doulas as essential workers,

hospitals started turning out policies with their own discretion that if you were a doula you had to then all of a sudden become certified. And one of the important things about birth workers, particularly Black birth workers, is the less connected to systems and institutions they are, the more that we can create or established autonomy for them to serve our communities the best that they know how. And so you have these situations with Black birthing folks going through a situation in unprecedented time. And then also not being able to have the support systems they want because of how institutions legitimize certification and those types of things that we know have historically been used to exclude our community. And so with that, I just want to leave folks with, you know, one of the things that the people closest to the problem are closest to the solution, but often farthest from the resources in decision making power. And with this $300 million, we would be able to invest directly and today into solutions that we know our communities have been, are aligned up to implement in our communities. So thank you.

TraeAnna Holiday 30:35

Thank you so much Miss Jackie Vaughn. I mean, what a wealth of knowledge around our health, particularly for you know, our birthing folks. I love that you brought that power here. Thank you so much. It's definitely needed for us to all understand. So we really appreciate you and what you're doing. Up next is Mr. Brandon Hersey. With Seattle Public Schools as the School Board Director, you're at Brandon.

Brandon Hersey 31:02

Thanks so much. Can y'all hear me? Okay? All right, right on. Thank you so much. I appreciate the invitation. And as we begin to ramp up our school system, for a full scale return to school in the fall, we need to be reminded that we need to keep the Black community specifically at the forefront of our minds, hearts, but more specifically, our budgets and our policy and our planning. Look, the opportunity gap has almost certainly widened during COVID. But the opportunity gap is not just a school's problem, it is a societal choice. And Isaac talked about this quite a bit earlier. And I really want to continue to drive this home, that we all have a hand in this choice. And as these resources begin to flow into our communities, this is an opportunity for us to make a different choice collectively. And if we are not in a position to make that choice, and if we are not, as elected officials, prepared to do something different then, as Isaac mentioned earlier, we also need to be prepared to held accountable. What I want to what I want to share to contextualize this, is think about this, as Bezos, Musk, and countless other nameless white billionaires 10x multiplied their wealth over the course of the pandemic. We are currently projected to be living in a world by 2050, where the Black community collective wealth is at zero. And let me further put this into context that these two men are actively working to create a tourist system to other planets. Soon, it will be easier for folks to buy a ticket to the moon, than it will be for most Black families to afford a home. And if we do not take this opportunity that is in front of us right now, then we are complicit in that truth. Look, if we want our children to have the choice, to live in the community, in the cities, where they grew up here in King County, then we must act now which is why I am joining this coalition in demanding that this $300 million being directly invested into Black led organizations and Black community. Look, during the pandemic schools have proven to be the social safety net for so many of our families but especially our Black families. And I want to be clear we already have the roadmap for how to get this done thanks to the leadership of organizations like King County Equity Now, like the youth and community Queen Emijah Smith, who organized the Black Education Now rally. Like so many other organizations, groups coalitions, you name it, that have told us for so long, exactly what needs to happen in order for us to reach the goals that we set for not only ourselves but for our children. As we head into a a new moment for this county. From the school's perspective, there are many things that we could do. Okay, and don't get it twisted. Seattle Public Schools has a long way to go to dismantling its systemically racist structure. But again, community has clearly laid out some of the things that we could do to take steps in that direction. First off, community health centers that are placed in schools, making sure that our students have access to the same health care services that their counterparts do in different parts of the city. We could take steps forward by assessing what land properties are owned by various school districts and government agencies that can be gifted to Black community to be developed into spaces where Black children can be free from oppression and still get a quality education from folks who look like them. But it doesn't just stop there. By working together, and letting Black community lead to give us the answers that we have known for a long time, we can actually move the needle on the opportunity gap, we have the ability to do so we have the roadmap, we have the expertise, we have the leadership that's necessary in one of the most rich and prosperous states in this country. Where we have one of the richest people, two of the richest people on this planet living in this city.

Yet, we have so many Black families that are in dire need of housing assistance, so many other societal barriers that have been stood up that keep so many of the people that look like me and the other leaders on this call from being able to participate in life, in the same way as their neighbors, literally living next door. So this $300 million is a small, small ask. From the generations, the decades, the centuries of oppression, that have plagued our community, specifically at the hands of white supremacy. You cannot support Black lives if you do not all support Black futures. And let me repeat that you cannot support Black Lives unless you also support Black futures. And that means education, investment, housing investments, wealth investments, any type of investment that you could imagine, it is owed to the Black community, in our city, and we named excuse me, not our city, our county, named after Dr. Martin Luther King has an opportunity in this moment right now to make good on that namesake and our commitments to Black community. And I hope that you will come along with us and join this coalition to make sure that this $300 million optimally allocated to the organizations into the Black community who have for centuries had the answers to what we need. And now it's time for us to act. thank you so much for your time, we can pass it on to the next.

TraeAnna Holiday 37:46

Thank you so much, Brandon Hersey for bringing that context around education and the immediate need for this $300 million investment. I particularly really enjoyed you saying you cannot believe in Black lives mattering without actually funding Black futures. I think it's just so key here. And that's really why we're all here. So thank you so much for bringing that. Up. Next, we have Amir Spulkin, of East African Community Services.

Amir Soulkin 38:18

Wow, I am so honored to join my voice with so many of my esteemed colleagues on the panel here. And you know, I let me just start off by saying again, my name is Amir. I am the development director at East African Community Services. I, I am African American, and yet I have the distinct honor of working with East African refugee and immigrant communities. And so that speaks to the ways in which East African Community Services wants to be explicitly clear. We identify with our multi generational African American brothers and sisters, we identify with anybody that's Black within the diaspora. And we are we're, we stand firm and resolve that we need the $300 million to affect the change that the Black community deserves. I was sitting here a bit in my feelings because I was thinking about the fact that ignorance, ignorance is not bliss. And the issue was well articulated by brother Isaac in terms of the quantifiable, the scientifically evidenced, the history of redlining, the history of racism and discrimination against Black folks, that the data is there. And so the issue is, what side of the moral arc do we want to stand on? What side do our politicians and our elected officials want to stand on? You know, do what is the significance of human dignity and respect and worth in your practice? Is that elevated above political considerations and so we want to be very, very clear that we hold that Black people are the subject matter experts for our humanity. And that means that we, we are we are intelligent. We are we are resourceful enough within the context of our communities, to first and foremost know exactly what we need. From my development, which is to say my fundraising scene, I gotta tell you how frustrating it is that we go through rat hole, rat races, excuse me, after rat race to find funding to support programs for our kids, we of course serve, the vast majority of our families, East African refugee and immigrant families are proximate to or, or at federal poverty levels. And we create programs for about 450 youth annually to do after school programs, we have a hardcore shift towards science, technology, engineering, engineering, and math realizing that these opportunities were really terraform our communities and allow for class mobility in as little as one generation. And I know some people are like, yeah, is he advocating for a pro capitalist positionality. But like, that's not that that conversation itself is racist. And it's not a conversation that Black people have the luxury to have. And so we will do everything, whatever we can do within our power to make sure that our families not survive, but thrive. When I think about the debt, the debt, the quantified debt, that African folks, the Black folk are old it is it is it is daunting, that we're even having this conversation, where we're trying to get folk with positional power and political power to make the right decisions. And it's an issue of anti racism, or complicit, complicity with racism, and structures of inequality. The East African Community Services is in the middle, the beginning, rather of an intense capital campaign to build our family Empowerment Center and housing project. And we have to do that because of the rabid and I do mean rabid atrocious, violent process of gentrification that is pushing all kinds of Black people out of South Seattle, further down towards cities like Tacoma. We've seen, I think, at last estimate, 65 of our families have been gentrified out of that community. And we're done with that. And so we you know, when we think about the the-- TraeAnna talked about the immediate consumption of $300 million, it's not anywhere near enough. But it is a great start to help to equip Black people with who are who are autonomous, who are independent, who are well resourced and deeply connected and committed to our own people into our culture, to give us the resources to make a difference in our own community. Why because we are the subject matter experts for our own humanity. We join our voice with hundreds of other organizations within King County Equity, King County Equity Now to make sure that this is a decision of, this is a decision that comes down to the moral imperative. What side of justice will you stand on? We live in a locale a state that prides itself on being

progressive, right? Progressive, we're liberal state we were pro diversity we have our somebody lawns from from Queen n to North Bay to the South Side are littered with Black Lives Matter signs, even as we're gentrifying on our own communities. And so we know that if there is the, in our hearts, if we have the collective willpower to do the right thing, like given this $300 million directly to Black, the Black community, we know what to do with the money, we will continue providing services for our kids. After School context, we will continually provide citizenship classes, we will continually prepare our families who are English language learners to to learn the language, we will continue to provide authentically cultural spaces that are pro Black, which does not mean we hate anybody else. We will continue to do the work, do the work to make sure that our elders are taken care of. And we will continue the work of our East African COVID-19 rapid response fund we created because we had to do it. We serve all kinds of Black people and some other groups that come in needing help. And we serve more than 4000 individuals. We did that not for brownie points. And we did that because we were Black. And we did that because we are, we are about that life for our community. So we again, unapologetically demand that our politicians and our local leaders and those with positional power, do the right thing. The evidence is all around you. Black people deserve this. You know, lastly, and I'll leave it here. You know people like to, you know, damned if we do, damned if we don't, when we talk about economic empowerment and autonomy and independence, we're militant. When we talk about Black Lives Matter and protesting, you know, then we're thugs and we are just complaining. You can't have it both ways. The material reality that we live in, the material world is a direct consequence of yesterday's behavior. The economic devastation and disenfranchisement of Black people is not something we did to ourselves and so the moral of narrative is, choose this day, which side of justice you will be on? You can't say that you're anti racist, and you continue to allow Black people to be at the bottom of every major socio economic metric in this country. What side of history? What side of herstory? Will you be on? Thank you.

TraeAnna Holiday 45:26

Wow. I mean, after every speaker, I have to tell you guys this, I am getting the chills. Oh, my gosh, Amir, thank you so much for bringing the context of, you know, how East African Community Services has been in the community, steeped in community, identified as Black, you know, being there. And really, you guys are a great pillar of solutions, as you've pivoted, and had these opportunities to fund 4000 individuals with your COVID relief. I mean, this is really the work that we're talking about here that needs more and more funding that needs that direct investment of what is owed. And I really appreciate all of you, steeping this in the context that this is money that is owed. Right. And so I always want to keep on mentioning that. Thank you so much, brother for that amazing context, you just gave us off. And up next. I'm excited because this brother stepped into his field as King County Councilmember. And he's, he's been doing exactly what he said he was going to be doing on the campaign trail by being there being connected to community staying steeped in the solutions that are coming from community and utilizing his platform to continue to elevate that, I now introduce you and bring you on to Mr. Councilmember Girmay Zahilay.

Girmay Zahilay 46:52

Thank you, TraeAnna. And thank you for saying my name right, you know, months later, and people still mess it up. So I appreciate you. Thank you King County Equity Now and all of the Black led organizations who organize this and continue to demand the very best for our communities. I'm so proud to stand with all of you here today, now, and always. Our local black community, as many people have stated already continues to be harmed by the status quo of our government structures, and even more so during the covid 19 pandemic. By almost every metric of well being we're struggling, we're being harmed relative to the rest of our King County family. There are a million reasons why this is the case. But one of the dominant reasons why we're harmed is that government does not do enough to put the resources in our hands to take care of our own community. For example, Black people are heavily, heavily over represented in the problem of homelessness, but were largely excluded from the solution, which is so backwards because as Jackie Vaughn said, the people closest to the pain have to be closest to the policies. We understand the unique cultures, the strength and and the struggles of our communities, we know it best, so we're best equipped to take care of one another. But we know government is not doing anywhere near enough in giving us those tools. In the COVID-19 budget. For example, we have millions of dollars for housing and homelessness response through amazing programs like health through housing. I fully support health through housing, it's an innovative and comprehensive approach of buying hotels and motels to house our chronically unhoused population. It's also true that this is a government led strategy, we need to do much more to support existing community based efforts for housing and holistic care. That's why I made an amendment to the budget for $30 million to create a community driven fund for housing and care to support the projects all around our region that are led by Black organizations like Africatown Community Land Trust, East African Community Services that we heard before, Creative Justice, Community Passageways, so many others, and also our indigenous family, Seattle Indian Health Board, Chief Seattle Club, Mother Nation, they're already doing a lot of work to provide housing and holistic care for the communities that they understand best. And in King County we're not doing enough to put those resources behind you, behind us, to provide housing and care for our home. So you all doing this work to create the political environment, where amendments like this are possible makes all the difference because I'm going to be honest with you, I don't think I have the votes for an amendment like that. But if you all keep pushing, if you all keep advocating, if you all keep highlighting the gaps in our system, the fact that we are not putting the resources in our community's hands the way we should be. I think we can get there and I'm proud to stand with you every step of the way. As Brandon Hersey mentioned, now's our opportunity to write the wrongs of the past and the present, and I'm going to be your champion. And I'm going to work alongside with every single one of you to make that happen. Thank you so much for having me.

TraeAnna Holiday 50:10

Thank you so much. Girmay Zahilay, Councilmember, King County Councilmember, we so appreciate you championing these efforts. And it is because you are connected to them, and you understand them, and you come from them. And that is why diversity, that all of these levels of government is so key, because we need champions like you in the positions of King County Council to be able to be bold enough to make the amendments necessary for these direct investments. And again, giving back to the Black community that is owed so much. So I'm very, very grateful for your presence here today. And I'm just glad that you were able to uplift this amendment, and that we can actually partner with you to do the same. And up next you guys is someone that is so steeped in community and wear so many hats, and today, she is here to represent as the Housing Chair for the NAACP, we so appreciate everything you do miss Ayan Musse.

Ayan Musse 51:13

Hi. I don't even know how to really follow my brother. He said everything I needed him to say, I thank you all. I really, really thank every last person that spoke before me, and even folks that are going to speak after me, because it really does take all of us to do this work. We have to really do this collectively. But more importantly, I really want to go back to, because as I look at 3 million, I'm almost laughing because the truth of the matter is, we're all over a billion within King County. And I'll be really honest on why I feel that. Because we live in one of the most richest counties, people got all kinds of monies and can develop buildings in a minute. But when it's our turn, when it's our time when it's poor people, when it's Black people, we don't get anything. What Girmay just talked about, that's as real as it gets in the mere fact that he has to actually sit here, talk about "I don't have the votes" -- I was serious when I told you, bro, I'm taking names, and I'm getting mofos out. Because at the end of the day, if you do not vote with this brother, it's time's up, you got to go. It's really that simple. Black people need to wake up as a community, we need to wake up, the status quo has never worked for us. This is the time, this is the place, we got the right people, there's no reason that Africatown needs to be continuously looking for money. I'm sick of it. When Brandon was talking about "let's reallocate even how we utilize the school system, and let's look at these buildings that are not being utilized". You speak in not only my language, even as I sit as the housing chair for NAACP, we're house less we don't have an actual office. So the reality is that should never ever have been to any of us in our communities. Things need to change, how is the oldest agency that looks like the community, can't even get housing. Don't even have an actual office to speak up. Something's really wrong with this. Folks are comfortable and others are barely surviving. It's no longer a conversation. It's time-- time's up. So when I tell you, we are taking names, and we're gonna vote your behinds out, people wake up. And all those agencies, they kept getting all of our money, keep talking about serving our people. Time's up, I'm done. Because there's no way in the world that we can be the continuously be the people that are homeless, continuously be the people that are forgotten about and our groups, our agencies don't even get looked at. I'm done. It, time is totally passed up. I no longer want European Americans to come out and hold signs for me. Do you care, then start calling your daggone elected officials, start telling them what the Black community really needs, and get people out that aren't doing stuff for us. Or stop talking about how you care for me, because you're part of the problem or you're either the solution. It's that simple for me, East Africa shouldn't have to hustle Africatown sh- and our native brothers and sisters who with whose land we're still standing on, who get no recognition. Come on, man. The disparities are past real, and there's not enough elected officials unfortunately to care about us. So it's time that if you care one sec about people of color, and In particular, Black people, either speak up and do something about it and get people out or stop talking about us. It's that simple for me, I'm gonna step back and hand it over.

TraeAnna Holiday 55:14

Wow, Miss Ayan Musse, so appreciate your comments today. And your truth is the truth of us all. And it's so important that we understand that we do need these direct investments. And you're so right. I mean, the time is up for the performative actions. We're hearing people like the mayor, and the King County Executive talk about being performative. And that is what we really been seeing in the Black community with regard to our government officials, our elected officials, and it is no longer time for that. And I think it is important that people understand exactly what you said, that we actually are following through all the ways that you vote, on what you're voting against, on where how you're utilizing your power in that elected official position, how it's being wielded, so that Black community can understand who we have before us so that we can really begin to change it from the inside. Thank you so much Miss Ayan. Up next. You guys, I'm just loving this panel. And I just want to say thank you to all the panelists already. This has been a really great community conference. And again, you know, those of you who are in the audience, you guys have the opportunity to see yourself as part of the solution by again, as Ms. Ayan said, calling your elected officials, emailing your elected officials and making sure they're hearing from you. Up next is Mr. K Wyking Garrett of Africatown community land trust, a brother who has been doing so much work in the community now for so many years, really pouring into the black community and into the future vision of what black community can be. Go ahead, Mr. K Wyking Garrett.

K. Wyking Garrett 56:56

Please, good afternoon, all and thank you to the leadership of King County Equity Now and the team there for elevating us in this very critical moment. We're here today to talk about the demand for $300 million of funding that's coming in for relief to be a part of the funding to be directed, specifically to address the conditions of the Black community that have been perpetuated over decades and generations, and being led by that community in itself. Just think last week, it was the American Rescue Plan. Coronavirus, local fiscal, fiscal recovery funds, it was $350 billion allocated to state, county, and city governments to address the impacts of COVID-19. And what we're talking about today is a key opportunity for funding that the city and the county here in Seattle and in Martin Luther King County have received the opportunity to turn the reality, the rhetoric into reality, the rhetoric around shared prosperity, social justice, equitable development. And so that we hear so often, again, into a material reality to turn the conversation. And so often in this area, people begin to think talking about the problem is actually solving the problem, which it is actually not. And what we have to do is move from that conversation to concrete change. And this is the opportunity that we have to move away from the Jim Crow Apartheid reality that has persisted in Seattle, in the county, in the state to a new normal rooted in equity. You heard a very articulated, very well about the compounding debt. We know that repair is in order. What we have heard is that well, we don't know where the resources are going to come from. But we saw trillions of dollars created or appear to provide relief for the COVID-19 impacts almost overnight, so we know that the resources do exist. We know that these resources are now being distributed. Though the relief was not presented for our communities for again, generations and decades of of harm. You know the pandemic of white supremacy, institutionalized racism that has killed many more and deteriorated the lives of many more than we know, even this horrible current global pandemic has done. You know, one of the approaches that we can learn from is how the approach to actually getting the vaccine out to help people, right. And it was prioritized for those who are most vulnerable to, due to previous conditions, due to age, etc. Right. So those that needed it the most, who were prioritized to get it first, right? The workers, certain workers, again, our elders and seniors, hospitals, were telling people at the time, if your condition is not, you know, critical, stay home, right, so that the people who need care the most can get that care. This is the same approach that should be taken as these resources are distributed. When we're talking about capital and funding, we need to prioritize those who have pre existing conditions that have been caused by past policies of the government, of the private sector, colluding to disenfranchise and harm -- and have harmed certain communities, which is well documented at this point, that should be who receives these resources first, we should be prioritized for these resources. And that's what today is about. Africatown Community Land Trust specifically, is focused on acquiring land, access to capital, related to community real estate, and economic development so that the Black community that has called, the Central District has called Seattle, home for almost 140 years before Washington was even a state can have a future of well being of thriving in a place where they've been for many decades, over a century. In our approach, we know that equity means ownership. And when we talk about the inequity, we heard about some of the things that were articulated previously, in our work, we see that there are no developers of scale, that are Black, that to develop these projects. There are no general contractors in the state of scale that we're able to find there are no architectural firms of scale that we're able to find. This is after 140 years. And William Grose, who was the founder and pioneer, one of the founders of Seattle, and the founder of the Central District was a developer back in 1882. But in 2021, we cannot find these. And we know that it's not just by happenstance, or chance, or lack of effort, or lack of competency, but that there's been systematic structures in place to perpetuate and create the environment and circumstances that we see today. And when we're talking about just affordable housing development in our neighborhoods, and communities, that really doesn't even get us to equity, because we need to be talking about commercial space. You know, ask yourself how many buildings do African Americans owned downtown skyscrapers, how much space on the port where the economy is really functioning, how much manufacturing space how many corperations of scale, how many institutions of scale, $10 million, $20 million exists in this state after 140 years after George Washington Bush helped found this state. So this is what we're talking about. And it wasn't just then, as decade after decade, we see that things from covenant housing, covering restrictive covenants, to redlining, to urban removal, to drugs being proliferated into the communities, to mass incarceration, to predatory lending, all the way up to land use changes. And now again, a pandemic that disproportionately impacts our community because of those compounding factors that were just laid out. And so even in the American Rescue Plan local funding guidance that just came out from the Treasury, it says specifically, that these funds provide substantial flexibility for jurisdictions to meet the local needs. And one of the local needs that's also addressed in the guidance is to address systematic public health and economic challenges that have contributed to the inequal impact of the pandemic on certain populations. You saw Dr. Fauci who was the preeminent, one of the preeminent voices on the pandemic speaks specifically to how our communities, Black communities and others have been inequitably impacted. And so what we're talking about again, right now, is the opportunity, the choice, the current circumstances are result of previous choices, the future circumstances will be result of the choices that are made right now. And so what we're saying is either a choice between perpetuating the status quo of Jim Crow apartheid in Martin Luther King County and Seattle, in this state, or choosing to invest the resources in a way that creates a new normal rooted in equity, and part of that new normal rooted and equity is our communities, are the communities that are most impacted, having the most control over the resources that are supposed to impact our lives. And that's what today's conference is highlighting. This opportunity so that everyone can be clear and making their choice that they are making a very distinct choice between two worlds two paths forward. All right. And so with that, we say that, we hope you choose the right side of history, we read about history, we celebrate the histories of makers of the past, but today, we're all making and writing our history right now. And we hope that those who have the ability to influence where the resources go, do take the choice, take their power, take their agency to create a new normal rooted in equity, where those that need the funds are getting the funds and are being self determined and developing a solution so that we can thrive and live our full and best lives. Thank you. K Wyking Garrett, Africatown Community Land Trust.

TraeAnna Holiday 1:06:12

Wow, thank you so much. Absolutely. Our panelists are in the background, snapping their fingers. I just got to point out here that the comparison between you know, how we're seeing the vaccine be disseminated in our communities and giving the priority to those who have been the most impacted, and comparing that with these opportunities of investment and funding, and really paying back what is owed, I think was so spot on. And I agree 100%, obviously, once again, you know, you guys, these panelists are the experts, these are folks that have been working on these solutions, and that can testify to the effectiveness of their solutions, but also of this dire need that we are seeing when we have this opportunity right now before us with regard to this direct investment. And with that, just thank you so much K Wyking Garrett, brother, you know, always coming with such clarity of thought. We so appreciate all the work you're doing out there and community. Up next is my sis, Miss Emijah. Smith, Community Queen, please take it away, Emijah.

Emijah Smith 1:07:23

Thank you, Trae, thank you to everyone who's joining today and taking this time to learn and to support. There is so much that from the experts who have already spoken and they have spoken not only with clear, confident, articulate knowledge, but with facts, right, and with truth. So I don't want to repeat anything that that's already been said. I just want to say that I agree. And I stand alongside y'all. The pieces that I want to share about is that these facts, we know this, and a lot of our elected officials know this, but that normalized anti-Blackness that is so us in the fabric of the American the US culture, right, is in there and as such as starch, funk, funky smell, right? You know, I get some dirty cloth and it stinks, you can't wash it out, you can't febreeze that out, you have to throw it out. So I just want to speak that we have to throw this out. We're going to address it, I think what are in history, maybe you thought you febreezed it, maybe you thought you've addressed and tried to do some different things. But what we are seeing is that the stench is not out, the racism that's embedded. And it's in the data in the outcomes. The effective strategies of what you thought was effective is clearly not effective. And the community has been talking to you about it, putting pressure to say, do something different. COVID has really exposed as to what we already knew, I think for communities, Black community, we have already known about these issues. We're so genius, and we're so resilient, we keep pushing through. But as we do it, you know, we'll come on the team, we want to bring everybody along and keep moving forward because we're not hateful. We're not hateful people like that. But what we are saying is that this money in particular was from the feds regarding COVID. It is exposed us all so we all woke you can't deny it. These resources need to be targeted in an effective way. And if you go back and do the old normal, that is entrenched with anti-Blackness and entrenched with racism, you are just continuing to pay and make particular communities and I'm just gonna say what it is, but seem like they're particularly white communities, keep making sure that they're doing okay to try to come serve our community and it's ineffective, the data keeps showing you is ineffective. And you might want to give people a little Honorary Award here or there or acknowledge somebody named, but you don't want to put the resources in the community. That's just all lip service. And I do have faith in a lot of our council members. And from the city council to King County Council, I do have some faith in y'all. But I know that there's not many of you representing our community. There's just, I think, one, then there's people who are trying to be in solidarity. But you're not, you can't do it alone. And you really need to take leadership. If nobody learned anything over the summer in the wake of George Floyd, that is to take leadership from Black community, and take leadership from Black women, because we know, we know best for our community. So when you make these decisions, and you're thinking I'mma try to do this, I'm gonna try to do that, if you're not invested in Black community, and you know that's the issue, and you keep going back, and investing into white organizations, you are upholding the systemic racism that's at play, you are intentionally saying, I don't care about y'alls outcomes. Keep coming up here bothering me, I don't care about that. I'm trying to maintain this other status quo. So I guess these people will like me, or I don't get too much harsh, fight back. Because who do you rather have the fight with? And we're not, I'm not trying to fight you. But I'm gonna put pressure because my kids need resources, I want my kids to be successful, too. I want my grandchildren, I want my community members to be successful too and have access to opportunities. And all we're saying is that we know how to do it. We didn't ask you guys for all of it, although we deserve, if you look at the history, we deserve way more. But don't asking for all of it, we still want to share that. But we're saying you have to share.

You have to do it. And if you choose not to do with that, say something about your character, and quit smiling in our faces, because we're going to I'ma call you out, quit doing that. We know who some of those that don't like us and hate us and try to pit the Black community against other communities and where it is up here, trying to ask for what is deserved. And what is deserved is we want to take care of all the children, we want to take care of all the community. But you can just be neglecting certain communities and then figure, trying to, you know, act like a don't exist and just want to keep putting people in prison and seeing people dying. That's not cool. That's not that's no longer going to be acceptable. A lot of my advocacy has really been an education and justice reform. So I, as a parent, as a mother in these schools, across King County, not just Seattle Public Schools, I see it firsthand, I talked to other parents, I understand the resources that are missing. The restorative justice, restorative counselors, that are needed for conflict resolution, not two teachers who don't know what it even is, sitting there having students make statements, so you can decide how you want to discipline them, like ya'll the police. That's not restorative justice. We're talking about real restorative justice counselors in the school, removing all that security and policing to figure out how you're trying to push people down the pipeline. Real advocacy, parent advocacy, resourcing families who know how to navigate that system, who know the RCW codes and who understand the policies and education. The districts don't have that, and I would say they probably don't even have the funding to do it. But they can get creative and innovative and think about how to resource families in that way. The tutoring that's needed for special education students, the extra services, this is before COVID. This is before COVID; COVID only this expose how much y'all don't have a phone number for families, you ain't reaching families, you ain't ensuring families know how to graduate, you putting kids in remedial classes when they should be in honors classes, like this is what I see. And this is what I know from elementary to middle to high school, funneling our kids out the wrong direction. But if you if the resources can come to the families in the communities who understand and who know, that's gonna curve a lot of that. So I'm just saying we need to direct our resources to something that's effective. What's currently had been offered to the Black community is not effective, is not effective. We appreciate the acknowledgement and award that you give here and there, but we need, what we need we need our coins. I need my money. I'm laughing because I'm -- give me my money now, please. So again, I don't have much more to share that was already been offered but when you see the work and your first, you know you're really in it and you're in the trenches it's is really painful to watch, it puts that warrior spirit, it activates it and it comes in brings out this side of me, that you know I don't mind the fight and and being in the trenches. But I don't want to be like this all the time having to constantly keep trying to seem like I gotta convince people to do what's right. And then feel like I'm gonna be threatened with police or some type of consequence, because I'm just saying, you share, be equitable. That's all we're asking is for equity around the resources. And we can, we can serve our community as we know best we don't, I don't need somebody to tell me how to raise my kids or teach my kids and y'all don't even know how to do it. That's insane. So, I don't know, not much more to say, Trae, I think that we, that 300 million is not asking for a lot. Y'all can do it, we have the resources to do it. It's focused for a reason those who are furthest and closest to the issues, furthest from the resources. Now you can balance that power, you can balance the resources, and you could do something, you can take leadership, Seattle's a big place, King County is well known, I mean, we can do a whole lot. And we can be a model for other cities, and states and other counties across the nation. Thank you.

TraeAnna Holiday 1:15:59

Whoo, oh, I knew it. Emijah's the one that always, always, always comes through. And you know, I mean, clearly all of our panelists comes through. But in, when we start talking about mothers, it always gets me Emijah. And I just appreciate you centering the conversation around our babies around our youth, and how important it is that this investment directly be made, so that we can actually actualize the solutions and scale up the solutions that are already there. And that we are the experts of, and I think you're so right, when you say we need the money now. This is not something that needs to wait any longer. It's already been delayed far too long. Thank you for that said, run me my coins now. I agree. #PayTheFee. Up next, we have a couple of, you know, representatives who, we really want to hear from you guys. Because as we had these amazing panelists, and experts talking about the various sectors of how this investment needs to be wielded, and how important it really is, we want to get some answers and maybe some perspective from you all. And I'm going to start with Mr. Joe Nguyen

Sen. Joe Nguyen 1:17:15

Perfect. Thanks so much, Trae. Thank you, everybody from King County Equity Now. And all the leaders in the Black community for organizing today. And like folks have said this pandemic has exposed inequities that have been perpetuated against the Black community for generations, and echoing Isaac, and others today, we need to create systemic change immediately. And we can't just talk about change anymore. And in the legislature, it is an honor and privilege for me to help uplift the voices of community members, you know, following the community to reform or better yet abolish bad policies that criminalize and targeted the Black community, following the community to procure land, like the millions toward the Keiro project, which even then isn't enough, because we need to listen to the community to address gun violence as a public health crisis, and invest in the people and address the root causes of it. In addition to this desperately needed $300 million, we need to change the way that we also invest our dollars locally, you know, 73% of the general fund in King County actually goes towards the criminal legal system. 73%. So if we continue to spend our resources criminalizing Black and brown communities, nothing will change. So we can't just put up signs and call it good. We have to make transformative investments, investments that are long overdue, and owed to the Black community. And it is clear, obviously, even today, the Black community has the experience and the skills needed to move all of us forward. So political leaders need to listen, and then get out of the way. So the work can get done. Because doing nothing perpetuates this racist system that we are in. And we have to be actively anti racist, and it means making these investments now. But what I will say as a person have been in the legislature for the past few years, it is very tough for people to create systemic change, when they benefit from that system. It is very tough for people to create systemic change when the people who are in charge benefit from that system. But now is the time, and like Ayan said, time is up. So I stand in solidarity with the Black community. I thank you so much for the opportunity to be here and I'm looking forward to working with you as you move forward out of this pandemic as well.

TraeAnna Holiday 1:19:42

Thank you, Senator Joe Nguyen, really appreciate you and your solidarity and support. Clearly what you just said there. I know it resonates with so many probably in the audience, definitely resonates with me. When you talk about those who are in power right now. They benefit from this, they benefit from white supremacy, from the systemic racism, from all of the things that have been mentioned today. They are beneficiaries of it. And so that's why really creating that diversity around who is in power is so, so important and so key to this. And we really thank you for being able to uplift that and talk about your experience, you know, in the legislature and how important it is, for us to really be listened to, and be leading these efforts and for folks to step out of the way. Up next, we have Representative Kirsten Harris-Talley.

Rep. Kirsten Harris-Talley 1:20:39

Thank you so much for having this forum. today. It's right on time. I'm Rep. Kirsten Harris-Talley, and I have the pleasure of serving the 37th district. This was my first term. And it was also the first time in Washington state history that we have remote session. And I was honored to work beside so many folks who are here today, through the summer, through protest summer, last summer to make sure that we could hit the ground running with priorities for the Black community starting on day one of leg session this year. And we're seeing some of the fruit form from those seeds planted last summer. So I want to thank, first of all, first and foremost, I want to thank community, I want to thank you all for holding the line on what equity and justice needs to look like, for making sure, despite years of folks saying that your lived experience was not what was happening and that they were doing all they could saying no you can do more, you can do it better, you can do it differently. It's taken years to get the representation we have in the legislature, I was honored to join and be one of nine black representatives within the legislature. But let's not get it twisted, folks. That's nine out of over 140 folks, right, so it's still not it's a drop in the bucket for what it means for the amount of voice that we need to make that change. So I'm dependent on colleagues like Senator Nguyen and others who stand in solidarity with us as Black people in that work. So I wanna name that that. There are three ways that we make changes legislators, when we take the lead from community, we make sure good laws happen and pass if we can get them to pass, we make sure bad laws never see the light of day and don't get a vote. And the third, and I think one of the most paramount parts of policymaking that so few people think of that legislators owe, is making sure that the dollars that are in budgets get placed in the parts of our communities that deserve those dollars. The United States is unique. Most of the infrastructure of what our community needs are and how those are met was not built by government and certainly not for the Black community. It was built by the communities impacted themselves, non government organizations that have the experience and know what communities need and are providing it in real time. And the pandemic. I love what you said, Trae and others have said, I'm just going to repeat it, there is nothing new that happened during the pandemic, it only made the fault lines of where we have been falling through the cracks more stark, so that everyone finally had to acknowledge what we've been saying for generations. And this moment has allowed us to really start getting the level of resources we need. And we need more, we need that 300 million. But we saw some traction grow this year. We saw $4 million, our office along with others in the 37, we were able to advocate for the Keiro project, which I know is a key project for Africatown, we made sure that East African Community Services had seed funding, just over $1 million for the vision of the family center so that finally EACS can have the permanent home that you all deserve for the work you do. And there's more to be done. I also want to be clear, there's good policy on the books that we're going to have to continue to work shoulder to shoulder with the community to see how that's implemented. We had the police tactics bill passed this year, but the proof is going to be in the pudding. And as we all know, on the local level when it comes to local politics, this is the year where we're going to have an opportunity to reshape what our local city and county level governance looks like. And the conversations about how these state level policies look, as they're implemented on the ground at the local level, are going to be paramount. This year we were bolstered a bit, the federal government gave a lot of aid to Washington State. But I need folks to also know we're going to have to continue to advocate for revenue so that we continue to have enough funding to invest. We passed capital gains tax, which means rich people have money that makes money are finally paying in and we're going to have revenue to invest in communities. We're going to have to work with the Department of Commerce and others to make and others to make sure Black communities and other communities of color and impoverished hyper rural communities are prioritized for those dollars. But we still have the wealth tax to pass. We still have the anti displacement property tax exemption to pass so that we can start giving folks some tax relief as well. So there's a lot to still be done on the state level. I don't want to diminish our champion, or you know, what we celebrate what we've done. But I just am always on the mark of what's the next fight ahead. So I just want to say you all continuing to have the standard of what justice should look like, it is our job to meet that standard. And I thank you all every day, for giving me the honor of working beside you and holding me accountable to the values of showing up for community. So thank you for what you do. And during this interim, I hope folks will continue to contact our office and other offices so that we can start that works, we hit the ground running again, and win twice as much for our communities in the next session. So thank you for all you do.

TraeAnna Holiday 1:25:43

Thank you so much Representative Kirsten Harris-Talley, it really is great to have representatives at the state level, like yourself, like Senator Joe Nguyen, really working alongside community to see these positive changes take place to see them through. And I appreciate you for having the vision about what's next, because that is a constant. As you guys could all hear from the panelists today, all of our experts, as well as our representatives at the state level, Senator Joe Nguyen and Representative Kirsten Harris-Talley, this $300 million is really so necessary right now. Seattle City Council and King County Council both have an opportunity to invest that money directly. And take from the leadership of King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay, that he made this amendment of $30 million in the budget because it is necessary, because he understands that we all have the opportunity right now to showcase to the rest of the nation, what it really looks like to invest in the communities that have been the most impacted by COVID-19. That's what this relief funding is all here about. That's what it's for. Let's make sure you guys are hearing the message to do the right thing. Listen to community, listen to those who have been the experts that have had the solutions on the ground, that understand the intricacies of their communities that have built relationships, and built institutions and organizations out of a need, out of a desperate need for them to exist. Listen to them, take leadership from them, give them the funding that is necessary, make this direct investment of what is owed, so much more is owed. And as so many said here, we're not asking for it all. But we're asking for a direct investment in what is needed. That 300 million is needed. And it's definitely going to be absorbed by all of these amazing organizations that have projects happening that have been stalled, or have been waiting for something, some funding. They've been waiting for the advocacy. We understand a lot of those projects are here, that some of those folks have been represented right here on this panel. And we, we encourage you to showcase to the nation, how Washington state can continue to lead by changing the status quo. And as K. Wyking Garrett said, by really rooting ourselves in a new normal that is rooted in equity. Thank you all for joining this community conference today. Appreciate all of your presence. And you guys stay tuned because we will continue to press and continue to give you opportunities as individuals to see yourself as a part of the solution. Thanks so much, you guys.