Seattle Department of Neighborhoods met with Y-WE Staff member, Tayah, to chat about her story, how her ancestry has shaped her, and her visions for Black History Month and the future for Black people in Seattle.
Y-WE Staff member Mary Hall-Williams shares a poem and thought piece for the Reimagining Black History Month series. Her invitation this month is to take a few minutes to imagine a time before colonization, before the forgetting of histories.
Seattle Department of Neighborhoods met with Y-WE Participant, Fatra, to talk about her thoughts on Reimagining Black History Month and her dreams for Black future in Seattle.
Blackness itself means so many things in our past, present, and future so you can’t sum it up with words. It’s a culture, a fashion, an unwritten constitution, a lens, a lifestyle, an expectation, a feeling, a motivator, the change, the radicality, the possibility, the past, the present, the future; it’s everything. Y-WE participant, Indigo, shares her experience with Blackness, whitewashing, and more.
Our Co-Executive Director Reagan Jackson is reimagining a Black History Month that is not about proving her humanity or worth or even educating others. She’s turning inward, asking if we are our ancestors’ wildest dreams, what dreams do we seed into black futures?
Y-WE strives to create a safe space for young people and adults as we learn, grow, and thrive in community. Our community is struggling to make ends meet, which inhibits the ability to thrive. We support the I-135 ballot initiative that will provide critical social housing across Seattle.