Urban Forum NW 03-05-26

Welcome to Urban Forum Northwest with your host Eddie Rye Jr. I have the same pleasure

of kicking the program off today with two distinguished journalists, Angela Poe Russell and

Essex Porter.

They're with the Seattle Association of Black Journalists and I'll let Essex start off by

since he contacted me first and explain exactly about the organization, the origins, how

much of the flourishing, do we have increased numbers and do we have anybody, well, I'm

going to say to replace Angela Poe Russell and Essex Porter, because I know we have some

young journalists that are upcoming and aspiring.

So go right ahead Essex.

Yes, the answer to your last question is yes.

We have great young black journalists active here in Seattle.

We can always use more, but the folks that I see on television here on the radio read and

print our fabulous and hope that you all follow them.

Seattle Association of Black Journalists is just what the title says.

It started in the early 80s, just a little bit before I got to Seattle.

Some of the founding members were Patricia Fisher, who was the first black journalist

to be on the editorial board of the Seattle Times, Nikki Flowers, who you all know from

her work at Cairo 7, also a groundbreaking black journalist here in Seattle.

So we have great roots.

We've tried to carry on their work to open doors, to spread the word, and also to involve

the community.

And that's one of the things we are doing with our special program on March 14th.

It is part of our Black Voices Matters series, but is a very different approach this time.

And that's where Angela comes in, because we are asking her to explain the process and

introduce us to a historic figure, Angela is known for her journalism on radio, on television,

more of a conventional journalism there.

But this time she has a very unconventional journalism.

Essex, your segue was masterful.

And you don't want to see you mention Mickey Flowers, that's Angela T. Rise Godmother.

That is also Catherine G. Porter's Godmother.

All right.

She's a fabulous Godmother.

Yes.

Go right in, Miss Angela Poe Russell.

Oh, okay.

So do I get to answer what I want, or is there a question that you'd like me to focus on?

No, I just like to have you focus on the Seattle Association of Black Journalists and your career

as a journalist.

Yeah.

Let me tell you that.

Let me tell you what I appreciate most, and Mr. Rye, I know that I think you'll feel

similarly, that nothing great happens without community, period.

And what Seattle Association of Black Journalists allows us to do is create community, build

community, be there for each other, have each other's backs.

I mean, it is a powerful force.

And we need more spaces like that where we can create community and nurture it.

And so I'm so appreciative for that.

And you know, listen, I've been doing journalism for so many years at the root of it.

I'm a storyteller.

And sometimes in traditional spaces, it can feel limiting to tell the stories that you

want to tell.

So being able to take my journalism background and use those skills and talents in other

spaces is very rewarding.

And so I'm excited to be doing a musical, the first time I'm having a musical produced

in Seattle at the Seattle Public Theater.

Well, that's great.

Share a little bit about your role to your heights that you got to.

Where did you work first?

What inspired you to go on to journalism and television?

Yes.

I started out planning to be a lawyer.

I was in a law exclors program, I was shadowing judges, I was just 13 years old, and a

great profession.

I'm sure you would agree from your personal background.

And but one day I was in the mall and they were auditioning people for a TV show.

And I decided to audition and somehow I got selected.

And in a weird way, one of the big things we had to do for that audition was move like

a cow.

And I looked back on it and I think what they were testing was who would be authentic

and actually go for it and give a really robust move.

So that's how it started.

And you know what's interesting, some people they get into journalism thinking, oh, it's

just TV and I get to be famous.

And so I was just fortunate, right, as it's laughing because he knows that's true.

I was just fortunate that once I learned more about what journalism was about, it was

a wonderful fit.

So I didn't have parents who went to college in a traditional way.

You know, my dad went to night school getting his degree.

So someone showed me how to type up the application to University of Florida.

And I applied to a few schools, actually I got rejected from journalism school.

And we talk about community because I spent two years in college at the University of

Florida planning to major in journalism and then I get rejected.

At that point, I had had two TV shows, I had had a radio show and somehow didn't get

into journalism school.

Well, it was the DEI office, what we call it, the DEI office, but it was the minority

affairs office and a man named Charles Harris that went to them and said that you made a

mistake.

And he put me in front of the dean told her she they made a mistake and they agreed to

let me in.

And so that's why I go back to community matters.

So it was a good fit for me.

I just have, I've done everything from, you know, host, you know, the nighttime angel

on a radio program to being Angie P and Jacksonville, I've written movies, I've anchored, I've

reported, I've just done it all and, and I've just loved every minute of it.

And look, it's tough, but you just find new ways to show who you are in the world.

And I really appreciate the fact that you were also a co-MC, the songs of Black Bulls

for my church, Newbie Green, Christian Fellowship too, yeah, too.

So Essex Porter, let's talk here about your career because I remember hearing a story Essex

about when you were a reporter in Portland, Oregon, you got called to an assignment at

a black restaurant and you got there and there was a dead raccoon on the door or something

like that.

Uh, awesome.

Yeah.

Well, I tell you, yeah, you really do know some history there because that was a very

long time ago.

Yes.

You know, I, like all reporters, I worked all the shifts, I worked the night shift.

My assignment desk gets a call and it turns out that possum, dead possum.

In the town, this is a city, right?

But they found possum, dead possum laid outside of this black restaurant.

And you know, as we continue to do the story, it turned out about what the restaurant owners

and the community were saying the truth.

The possum were put there by police officers, the police officers had taken a dislike to

this place and they put possum that they had, that they had killed driving around town,

maybe accidentally hit with their cars, but instead of just putting them in the garbage

or whatever, they collected them and delivered them to this restaurant as we investigated

as, as others investigated having, having this call to the attention.

It turned out that police officers were playing some sort of game called CPK and that stood

for certified possum kill.

And when they, they would tally up when they killed the possum and one night they decided

to deliver the certified dead possums to this restaurant.

You know, and in our community, we are often telling stories about police misconduct.

You know, clearly there are these stories and also clearly there are many police who are

acting honorably and trying to serve all of their communities.

So I don't mean this to, to smear police at large, but this is truly what happened in

Portland, Oregon and I was part of the reporting on it.

The truth is the truth.

Now let's go back to, you have an event coming up at the Seattle Association of Black Journalists.

Can we talk about that?

We absolutely can't talk about it and the reason we want to talk about it is, you know, a lot

of times we put up an event for, or Seattle Association of Black Journalists.

We, you know, it's open to community, but it's really sort of aimed at journalists

and reporting types.

This is a very different event.

This event is aimed to be open to the community, to share what I call some hidden history.

You see the backdrop behind me.

The story is about the woman in the, in the stand, whose face is on the stand.

And we, we want to share this with the entire community.

Journalism is so important, especially now.

It's important that there, that there be trustworthy and accurate and probing journalists.

But it's also important that community give journalists a chance to tell that story

and to be open to the story.

It's important that we break the boundaries of cynicism that are himming us in.

And there are many different ways to tell a story.

And what Angela has done here is taken a bit of, for what many people has hidden history

and found a great way to tell it.

It's not the traditional television news or newspaper story.

And that's why this is so great.

That's why we're inviting the community.

And Angela is even going to show us a little bit of her new musical.

Oh, great.

So, is the event.

Yeah, it's March 14th at the Northwest African American Museum.

And we will feature two of the songs from the musical.

We have not unveiled the cast yet, but they are some, some local folks that you may know

and I'm really proud of, of being an honor to have them as part of the project.

And let's see.

And I think what's especially unique about this is oftentimes we go see shows

and we don't get a chance to actually hear, especially when this has such historical significance

that you get to hear, you know, the stories behind the story, basically.

And then how I went from doing newsrooms to doing musicals.

And, you know, in the headline of it, all Mr. Rye is that this woman's story,

Bessie Coleman, is someone that everybody should know about.

And I was angry when I first found out about her.

Because I was like, wow, how would my life be different if I would have known about her earlier?

And what really got me is as part of my research, I traveled the country going to different spots.

And I went to the African American Museum in DC.

And I went to the aerospace museum and could not find her at our own museum.

You know, they couldn't find her.

And then I go to the aerospace museum and they have a tiny photo.

And I go to the employees and I'm like, where is Bessie? Where is Bessie?

They don't know who Bessie is.

Finally, I go to a manager.

And this point I'm in tears because I feel really disrespected.

It feels personal because, wow, what this woman did is incredible.

The manager says, oh, this is the National Air and Space Museum.

And they said, well, we're under renovation.

And so she's in storage.

Her stuff is in storage.

And I said, and how long are you in a renovation?

It was two years.

And so I'm like, I'm sorry.

I will not rest until everybody knows this woman's story,

particularly those who look like us.

Because what she proved, listen, I think every great story starts with a question.

And the question for me is, what do you do when you have a dream or an aspiration

and systems and people don't want you to get there?

Why do you do?

And she's a person that showed us away.

And that's why I think it's important to tell her story.

And once again, Angela, let me, if I might, Eddie, let me ask Angela just to back up slightly

because we've had, we've been so passionate about telling this story.

I'm not absolutely sure that we have just laid out who Bessie Coleman was

and what her groundbreaking accomplishment is.

That's why you made the big bucks as an exclusive Bessie Coleman.

So people always know Amelia Earhart.

If I say Amelia Earhart, you know who Amelia is, okay?

And I think Amelia is amazing.

Well, before Amelia, there was Bessie.

1921, the first black woman to get an international pilots license.

And we believed at the time, male or female, you know, in terms of getting that particular license.

And for any woman who got a license at that time, they usually had to come from wealth,

some kind of resource because women were not allowed in flight school.

So in the case of Amelia, she came from a wealthy family

and she came years after Bessie.

Bessie was a sharecropper.

And how she went from being a sharecropper in Laxahatchee, Texas

to basically being a celebrity in Europe and the United States

and leading to the opening of flight schools and inspiration

and named after airports and roads and all around.

So or at least certain sections of airports, I should say.

Okay, well, I want to thank both of you for what you guys are doing.

And once again, that will be March Saturday, March 14th.

We're thinking tickets Essex.

Yes, tickets go to the sale Association of Lecture and List website.

It is basically SABJOnline.org.

SABJOnline.org, there you can get tickets.

Ticket sales have begun now.

We still have plenty of tickets left.

Please join us.

This is going to be wonderful.

Thank you.

Thank you, Angela Poe Russell and Essex Porter.

Thank you, sir.

Keep in the information out before our community

and making sure to people know who our heroes and she rolls are.

Very, very important.

So thank you guys.

You're welcome.

Thanks for having us.

Okay.

Let's take this break and come back with Clarence and Claude

and the rest of the game.

Hi, my name is me and Rice, the diversity

of Contracting Director for the Port of Seattle.

As a public agency, the Port of Seattle serves the community

and our investments should benefit everyone who lives and works here.

The port is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion

and to leveling the playing field.

That means continuing to open doors

to contracting opportunities to all, especially women

and minority-owned and disadvantaged businesses.

How can you participate?

List your business and vendor connect

a database of contractors, a 10 port gym workshops

to learn how to do business with the port.

Learn more about contracting opportunities at portseattle.org

for more information on operating a concessions

at Seattle to come in at International Airport.

Visit lease.ctaxshops.com

At Sound Transit, we not only connect more people to more places,

we're making life better for all.

We're connecting diverse neighborhoods

to an entire region of opportunities like jobs and school.

If you have an Orca card, you can just tap and go.

We have reduced fares for seniors and writers with disabilities.

For adults with lower incomes, check out Orca Lift

and pay just a dollar for your ride.

To plan your trip or to learn more, visit us at SoundTransit.org.

Want to hear something different from talk radio?

Keep your dial on Alternative Talk 1150.

All right, Eddie Raj, Jr.

back at Urban Forum Rock West.

I want to thank the Port of Sales Diversity Contracting

Office headed up by me and Rice.

Concourse concessions.

That's Dave Pukohara.

The City of Sales Persons Production Services Department.

CTAG Bargloop LLC, Neon African Lounge, Mountain Room Bar,

and C Dogs.

That's Jerry Whitsitt and Ronald Neal.

In SoundTransit, Office of Civil Rights Equity Inclusion.

And that is Daphne Cross.

My next guest is Clarence Gunn.

Reverend Dr. Linda May Smith in Cloud Burfect.

We're just talking about Bloody Sunday,

how the significance of Bloody Sunday.

And I want to start with Clarence, President of the Seattle

Democrats for Diversity and Inclusion,

who might be Washington State.

Anyway, DDI and their active in the political system

and encouraging people to get involved and using their boat.

So Mr. Clarence Gunn, go right ahead, sir.

Well, thank you, Eddie.

This is great.

I appreciate you inviting me here this evening.

This afternoon, because it's a momentous task.

But it was kind of interesting.

The previous segment, the Association Black Journalist,

my sister, was the weekend anchor in Kansas City

for the last 20 years.

Until she just retired.

So I've heard about the Black Journalist Association

and some of the work they've been doing and supporting

what not.

So it was good to see that they're active here.

And it's nice to see more and more blacks

involved in the media.

But in terms of Democrats for Diversity and Inclusion,

boy, we've got a lot of work to do.

We know these are some trying times,

current federal administration in terms

of making sure that diversity and equity and inclusion

are not only buzzwords or words that will be used,

but that are really held up as standards

in that people really act on them, especially

at the local level.

And that's our focus right now is on the local level.

The elections filing deadline is May the 8th

for people that are running for office.

And we're already beginning to put together

our initial plans for voter registration type activities,

school, college graduation, those types of events

to make sure that everyone graduating

walks across that stage and hopefully he or she

will be a registered voter and can be engaged in some way

for the coming elections.

Because these are, once again, important elections

that will impact things for quite a while.

So those are some of the major big things

we're working on the voter registration.

We're looking at beginning our endorsement process.

We had our meeting Monday night.

We went over the rules and process and procedures

and requirements in order to be eligible to get a DDI

endorsement.

And we've got to put out the call to our DDI members

to become part of that committee to interview and assess

and recommend the candidates for various positions

to our membership.

And the membership ultimately will have the final say.

So it's a busy time.

Yeah.

Well, March 7th is the anniversary of bloody Sunday.

March 7th, 1965, it was an act that

the Marches were attacked brutally.

But that went around the world and it

did lead us to getting our 1965 Civil Rights Act.

So I just wanted to have you comment on the significance of that.

You know, that event was one that really showed America what

blacks were facing in the South, just the sheer brutality

of it, your horses running over people, grenades, officers

were batons.

I mean, they cracked John Lewis's skull.

I mean, it was just.

Did I lose you?

All right.

Cloud, why don't you step up?

We seem like clearances are having an issue right there.

Yeah.

What I can say is this being able to vote as a mechanism

for change, which is why?

This is why bloody Sunday was so important

to our country being able to hear that franchise rights

and exercise that franchise rights because we can help

make the changes that we need.

And this was part of what Civil Rights was all the movement

was about.

Also, and this is why Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights

Bill because we had that power, that exercise,

that franchise rights to be able to vote to make a difference

and to make a change in this country.

Dr. Lenev, you want to further expound on?

Yeah.

Yeah, thank you.

Yeah, I totally agree with what you just said.

Bloody sunny for me.

I mean, of course, I was a young girl at high.

But it really was about hope.

Someone who was forced to come up with a blood.

Well, those of people, such as Ralph,

who felt like no one knew about what was going on with him

and the suffering that they were enduring,

particularly sound, because that's where I'm from.

It was really about us being seen.

And I think what John Lewis and others have done,

is getting their blood.

Really, they made a sacrifice, okay?

They made a sacrifice.

So I really aligned that even with my own faith,

is that a sacrifice was made for me

in terms of my salvation.

John Lewis and others made a sacrifice

about being being not intentionally,

but that's how the system responded to it.

But it gave us so much hope and so much courage

that we too, in spite of the fear

that had been instilled in us,

that we would be healed if we spoke out about injustices.

They really gave us a lot of hope.

So.

Now, a lot of the younger folks,

we're trying to make sure that they understand their history.

And by having the videos and stuff,

they can go back and see exactly the brutality

people had to face.

And seeing young people being put in jail

and other kind of brutality happening.

But in the end, because bloody Sunday went around the world,

it was a very embarrassing to the country.

And that's a main reason, I think,

President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Boating Rights Act

of 65.

And that's something we're gonna have to keep doing

because right now, as we all know,

our rights of South African Americans,

I'm not gonna speak for anybody else,

but I know our rights are under attack.

Our Boating Rights with this jury-mandering,

we'll talk about having ICE agents in front of polling places,

about having your birth certificate to prove your citizen.

So they're really folks are really going way out of the way

to disenfranchise voters.

We just saw on Tuesday what happened in Dallas County,

where people didn't know where they were supposed to go vote

because they changed things around.

And unfortunately, people didn't find out

until the last minute that polling places had been changed.

So, but I'm certainly hoping that we get to write people

in office because we don't need to go,

it looks like we're just going to another war.

Why, I don't know.

But I would just like to know, Reverend Linda,

you know, the clergy played a significant role

in, because that was our meeting place.

We didn't have cell phones,

I think Cloud mentioned that in earlier broadcast.

We didn't have cell phones, we didn't have pagers.

We had each other.

And the church houses were the primary meeting places.

And I'm glad to see you, Reverend Linda,

you're still out there.

We've been rejoined by Clarence Gunn

and also, Hayward Evans, the co-convener

of the Seattle Monarch of the King,

the Memoration Committee.

So Hayward, are you online?

Well, first, thank you for having me.

And you know, this, I know you've already mentioned it.

And I'm sorry, I'm just getting here now, but Saturday,

this Saturday is March 7th, Bloody Sunday.

And I know that was mentioned.

I just want to shake the trees a little bit again

and say that I know that we have to come together as a people

and making sure that we're getting

the young folks out there.

Interestingly, for the most part,

the progressive movements were handled by young people.

Dr. King was what, 26, John Lewis.

When he was beat up down there crossing the bridge

with those 600 great Americans, he was only 25.

And I'm saying we have to push it.

I know, Eddie, earlier today, when you were interviewed,

you talked about Elmer Dixon and Aaron Dixon

and how young were they at that time

when they were taking on the Brent,

the Black Panthers and the movement in the Seattle area.

So I'm just, I'm just proud of the people here

and what we're trying to accomplish

and the fact that we are moving forward.

Would it be appropriate for me to mention April 4th, Eddie?

Now, well, why don't we hold that to the end?

We got one of the folks over there.

And we'll get good job in on that.

Well, I just know it's time to stand up, speak up

and say what's on your mind.

We have to do the right thing.

And we have to make sure that the young people

understand the sacrifice.

And I don't think a lot of them truly understand that.

What people went through, we had cloud perfect on earlier today.

Cloud literally out in New Orleans

of the rest of 14 times was club beat in the head.

They messed up his leg.

I mean, and this is when he was a young man

and interestingly looking at doing a little research

on the, on the, the Selma March,

the majority of those were young people.

They were in their late teens and early 20s.

Those were the ones who were in charge.

Those were the ones who took the brunt of the beatings

although older folks did too.

But I'm talking in terms of leadership.

Look at, for the young people who were listening

and the listening audience, I'm here to back you.

I'm ready to pass the torch, listen to your leadership,

share with you my ideas, but it's your turn.

It's your turn.

And the current administration in the people's house,

he's not playing, trying to push black history

under the bus, pulling down Obama's picture,

making statements that are just out of this.

How are you going to pull Maya Angelou

from all the, all the military academies?

Does that make any kind of sense?

That's what races do.

That's what races do.

I just have to call it like it is.

Well, I know that Clarence was on earlier

and he had some technical problems.

But I want him to, DDI, President of Democrats

of Diversity and Inclusion to comment on,

on Buddy Sunday.

Are you with us, Clarence?

Yeah, thanks, Eddie.

I apologize, so I've got an appointment

with tech support tomorrow.

So I'm a day late, but anyway.

I mean, they have been going through Martin Luther King

and the Montgomery bus boycott and all those things.

Have been going on for a while.

But nobody really saw that.

You saw that in your newspaper,

the next day or two days later,

or in the weekly magazines, et cetera,

that were out at the time.

But the March bloody Sunday was on TV

and everybody saw, I don't want to say in real time,

but you definitely saw it on the evening news.

And as a result of the attack of the marchers

on the original march date on the seventh,

clergy from around the country showed up,

Muslim, Jewish, Catholic, Christian.

I mean, just the whole waterfront,

the diverse community came together and said,

this is wrong, but this community's been subjected to

and participating that march went from,

some all the way to Montgomery and participated

and it became a bigger event than just black folk.

But everybody saw what was happening,

the impact that it was having, how inhumane it was.

And that was the unfortunate benefit of bloody Sunday

because it just became so, you couldn't ignore.

It wasn't just some random pact with some crazy sheriff

in some town, it was the state patrol.

It was the entire state system saying, no,

to people that were fighting for some basic rights,

that unfortunately we don't take advantage of.

I know in this state, we're very fortunate,

we've got vote by mail, currently.

But in those states where they're making changes

to their voting laws, et cetera,

we've got to go back and do old school

and let people know where to go vote.

I mean, a thousand years ago and I worked

with the teachers union, I drove people to the polls.

I went to the senior center and picked up Mrs. Smith

and whoever and drove them to the polls

and took them back and took another carload, et cetera.

We're gonna have to get back to doing that kind

of grassroots, one-on-one, talking to people

to make stuff happen.

We've got to organize, not mobilizing.

It's not an event, it's a movement.

It's not a moment, it's a movement.

And we've got to start thinking about that

and those kinds of terms because should something happen

to vote by mail, people have no idea

in the state where to go vote, or out of vote,

or whatever else.

So we need to start thinking in those minds

to be prepared for those kinds of things

and how to mobilize and organize.

The good news is young people were out two, three years ago,

George Floyd, those kinds of activities

and organizing.

Now we need to figure out ways to reconnect

with those young people and help train support, guide them

in terms of some strategies to mobilize

and ongoing activity, a series of activities,

engagement in the political process to make a difference.

We've got new mayor, we've got new city council,

excuse me, new mayor.

We've got a new county exec.

We've got a new governor last year.

So they're plenty places for us to get involved

and engage and push our agenda,

but that's gonna require that we come together

and band together and that's some of the work that we can do

because of the diversity that was started at the march.

And I just wanna ask if we still have a vote by mail,

is it advantageous to have the churches, DDI,

NAACP, the unions that Claude Burfick represents

that meet with folks and have a little parties

in terms of discussing the issues

because if you're gonna mail your ballots in,

you might as well talk to people about what's on the ballot.

And that was one thing about the Jesse Jackson campaign

that opened up so many doors because we were always

putting up yard signs, donating money.

But when Reverend Jackson ran,

that put us at the table, not on the menu, but at the table.

And 84, we had one delegate, Reverend Dr. McKinney.

We won one significant seat.

That was Jesse Winder, he was a law school student

and Jesse ran against him and come with Bill Burns.

Didn't have any money and the primary was over

and we had a bunch of run Jesse, run signs.

And Jesse said, I can't use those.

I said, don't say Jackson.

So he used those signs.

I'm not gonna say they're helping him win,

but he did have a presence.

So we know by getting involved with the system,

what we can do.

And in 1988, when Charles Rollin was a campaign manager,

two years later, he was chair of the Washington Democratic

Party.

So Reverend Jackson running has really made a significant

difference in our involvement.

So I'd like to see if Reverend Linda Smith

since Clint's called Mrs. Smith

and Mrs. Smith is on the line with us.

That's Reverend Dr. Linda Smith.

And we'll go ahead and go to her

and have her comment next.

Yeah, well,

the great, you know, one, one, I believe that we,

you know, absolutely.

Reverend Linda, you're breaking up,

you get closer to the man.

Okay, I was just saying, I believe that we,

as a church, have to get more involved.

And you're absolutely right.

And we have to start it before voting month.

We, I mean, you know, we need to start now.

And I've been, you know, thinking about ways

that we can start to bring people together,

even just one or two at a time.

I think when it comes to voting, yeah,

I think we should go back to bringing people in

because people get it in the mail.

And it's, and we can already have,

if there's a schedule where they can come in

and talk about the issues and bring their voting ballot

with them.

So last year, I started something similar to that.

But this year, I think it needs to go bigger.

And I also talked to some of my colleagues

in this area.

I think we, one of the things in this area,

let us not forget about King County

because particularly around Black voting,

so many of us have moved out of the Seattle area.

So we got to pay attention to those people

in Renton and Kent and South King County area

who may not vote if they're not being paid attention to.

So yeah, I think churches are significant

because that's how we got this all started.

In the first place, we were there on the front line.

And I think we do have to take a more committed

and dedicated voice around voting

and educating, as you all have said earlier,

start educating people.

Young people just don't know what we went through.

And so we got to really educate them

because they don't teach it in school.

You're better about that.

And we had an ethnic school here at one point

and I'm getting ready to restart that.

And that was about teaching Black history every Saturday.

So a supplement to what they're getting in school.

So some of those things.

So yeah.

Well, Hayward Evans had mentioned earlier

about an event on April 4th,

a day I remember remembering the day

that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.

So Hayward now is a good time for you to talk about that

because that's a continuation of what we were talking

about today.

March 7th is one thing.

We can't forget any significant date

of African-American history.

We got to accentuate those dates all the time.

So Hayward, why don't you go right ahead

and tell us about April 4th.

I'm glad you said that, and for those folks listening,

April 4th is the 58th.

Think about it.

The 58th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. King

is been so long.

And I know Reverend Dr. Smith, you and Cloud,

y'all know a lot of folks who we know

who were making significant contributions in our community.

And they've passed away.

And you ask happy young people.

That's who we've been talking about.

And that's why I love to hear what you said,

Reverend Dr. Smith, about having that ethnic school

or at least were starting to move in the direction

of educating our young people on the side.

But how many people remember Edwin T. Pratt?

He was a murderer.

They never found his murderer.

And he was the executive director

president of the NAACP.

And Eddie, you know, you're...

Urbanly. Urbanly. Urbanly.

Urbanly, that's what I meant, excuse me.

Sorry, urbanly.

How many people remember Art Fletcher?

And all the great thing, even though he was Republican,

he had no way he had been getting along with these curbs.

I have a primary faction with the Republican.

We don't have any left anymore.

That you say?

Vivian Cavor, and everything she did when she was a state rep.

Dr. Samuel Kelly, Cloud, you remember him

from the youth.

Yeah.

These are the people that we need to make sure

the young people know about, my guy, my guy, Dr. Charles Mitchell.

He's the one who puts thousands for community college

on the map.

You can go up to college now and ask half the people

and they wouldn't remember him.

And that's just incorrect.

And that's something that we have to address.

But that's why April 4th is what we call a day of remembrance.

It's time to remember those folks, organizations,

and events that have a significant contribution on social justice

here, here in our area.

And you know, the Martin Luther King Jr.

Commemoration Committee, I miss you to the community,

and you know, show up, stand up, speak up for your rights.

That's where we're at.

And it's time to speak up.

Yeah, Van Boe, you got that right.

Well, look, we're going to have to tell you

once you guys a whole long, we've got to take another break

and we're going to come right back and continue

the conversation.

Because we're also going to be finding out

if anything else is happening on Saturday, March 7th,

the anniversary of bloody Sunday.

So Eric, let's take this break and come back.

At Sound Transit, we not only give people

more reliable ways to get around,

we're connecting diverse neighborhoods

to an entire system of opportunities, like jobs, school,

friends and family, and to the airport.

Our commitment to economic development

provides opportunities for women and people of color

to compete fairly for Sound Transit contracts.

All of this helps our regional workforce grow and thrive.

Go to soundtradset.org and search DBE to learn more.

Hi, my name is me and Rice, the Diversity

of Contracting Director for the Port of Seattle.

As a public agency, the Port of Seattle serves the community

and our investments should benefit everyone

who lives and works here.

The Port is committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion

and to leveling the playing field.

That means continuing to open doors to contracting opportunities

to all, especially women and minority

own and disadvantaged businesses.

How can you participate?

List your business and vendor connect

a database of contractors, a 10 port gym workshops

to learn how to do business with the Port.

Learn more about contracting opportunities

at portseattle.org.

For more information on operating a concessions

at Seattle's Covenant International Airport,

visit least.ctacshops.com.

Easy on the ears, good for the soul.

Alternative talk, 1150.

All right, that was appropriate song for the topic

that we're having this afternoon.

We've been joined by Dr. Lillian Roberson,

who is from Brimerton, and she does a lot of work

and she's involved with a health fear,

and it'll be taking place at a New Beginning

Extension Fellowship.

I think that's going to be on the 14th, is that right?

It's going to be on the 15th, thank you.

15th, that's right.

Yeah, it's going to be on Sunday afternoon

from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on March 15th.

Okay, well that's good because the Black Journal

is on the 14th, so that's perfect timing.

But Dr. Roberson, I'd like to have you

I know you're not an OG like us,

but I'd like to have you give up your impression

and comment on bloody Sunday that occurred

March 7th, 1965 on Edmund Petters Bridge.

Well, it's amazing, and thank you, Eddie,

for having me today.

It's a pleasure to be here.

It's just amazing to really think about that

and to really talk about why that part

about history still matters,

particularly when we look at what's happening today.

We still have to be reminded of where we've come from

and all the work that continues to need to be done.

Bloody Sunday just took a lot of courage

in the face of symptoms that really were designed

to exclude us.

That day certainly was a day that cost a lot for us.

The cost of access was great.

And we were just asking for a right to vote.

And we see now why that matters so much in this systems.

And so I like you and those of you that are on this platform

really believe that we still have work to do in that area

and we still have to take forward the cost that it took

and the price that was paid for us to continue to stand

and continue to fight with those efforts to vote.

And we're going more details on the health travel later.

But I wanted to go back to Claude and see Claude Burfek,

what kind of recommendations you have.

Is this something, a conversation you have

with the various union members you're engaged with?

Right.

What I'm going to do at it is I will get together

with April Sims, which is president

of the Washington State Labor Council and Katie Garros,

which is the executive secretary treasurer of the MLK labor.

And I want to be able to put some programs together

with these labor folks so that we can get the word out

to the younger people on the importance

of what our people have had to endure

over the years, for example,

what we're talking about bloody Sunday.

And the things we had to do to be able to get that franchise

right to be able to vote and educate.

And I know we're not getting the proper education

and schools on black education,

but to be able to get the message out to these young folks

or what their ancestors had to go through

to get to where we are today

and to show what they're trying to take away from us

what we fought so hard to get.

And one more thing I want to say is that Texas watch out

for Texas because Texas is getting ready

to turn blue on you in the Senate race.

And I know the Democrats is leading in that.

So that's our work with these labor leaders

to see what we can do to make a change

to get the message out to these young folks also.

And thank you, Cloud, I appreciate that.

Dr. Lilian Roberson, I want you to go ahead

and go over the health fair before we run out of time

because I know that was your main reason

for being on the program today.

So why don't you go right ahead

let us know about the details of the health fair

to be occurring on March 15th

that knew the administration fellowship chairs.

Well, thank you, sir.

Thank you.

When we remember Bloody Sunday, health access

was a problem, access to voting.

And so in that same system, access to health care

is really still a problem that we have to fight for now.

And one of the things that we know

in that space of health care, chronic kidney disease

is a real issue.

About 37 million folk have chronic kidney disease today.

And seven of 10, that's seven out of one

and seven persons have chronic kidney disease.

And 90% of those who have chronic kidney disease

don't even know they have it

because it's asymptomatic

until it's time for you to get something treated.

And you know, we talk about access

and we talk about our people.

We are three to four times more likely

to have chronic kidney disease.

That's because the biggest risk of chronic kidney disease

is hypertension and diabetes.

So those are our big risk factors.

Of course, certainly family history is too.

You know, when we think about it

and I want to be brief, everybody has two kidneys.

And the necessary role of those kidneys

is to balance water and nutrition

to remove waste from our bodies

and to produce hormones that regulate our blood pressure,

our bone health and our blood volume.

And so when we have unmanaged high blood pressure

and uncontrolled blood sugar,

it puts us at higher risk

where our kidneys to be damaged acutely.

But over time, if that's not managed

and if that's not corrected,

meaning blood pressure and diabetes

is not under control,

we go to a state called chronic kidney disease.

And chronic kidney disease can lead to us having to have

transplants, us having strokes

and us having heart disease as well.

And weaker bones and a lot of other health problems.

So when we start to see folk

that continue to have chronic kidney disease

once they finally learn of it

and are not getting it checked out,

transplants and dialysis are where we end up.

And if you notice in our neighborhoods,

we probably see more transplants,

more kidney centers,

Avita, Northwest kidney centers

and you know,

VATIF, those centers are in place

to treat our kidneys

because our kidneys are necessary to remove waste.

And when the body can't remove waste,

we can't survive without kidneys

being treated or the waste being removed.

So it's the impurity for people to show up

and do the initialization fellowship

on Sunday, March 15th at one time, Dr. Roberson.

It's showing up at one o'clock to 4 p.m.,

and we're gonna have a engaging panel discussion

with Dr. Bessie Young, Dr. Justin Bullock

and Shirley Mateta, who is a certified dietitian,

we're gonna talk about ways to understand the risk,

ways to diagnose kidney disease,

ways to prevent it and ways to treat it.

And we're gonna have a healthy community lunch,

door prizes and resource tables.

There's gonna be a space for kids from five to 10 years old.

And then we're gonna have exercise.

And at the end of that, Eddie,

we have opportunity to do a community line dance

just to celebrate all that we've learned

and our committed efforts to continue this

and to make kidney disease,

something we all are aware of and try to prevent.

Dr. Roberson, thank you so much for that information.

I wanna see, I got about a couple of minutes left.

I wanna see Rev. Dr. Luna Smith,

do you have a closing statement?

No, I mean, I think I heard Mr. Buffett said earlier

and I've heard it before is the fight for justice

is always ongoing.

The fight for democracy is always ongoing.

It's something that we can never go to sleep on.

And I think we all have to be focused

and diligent on continuing to advance justice.

If you look at where we came from to where we are now,

we're doing great, but there's so much work yet to be done.

So I'm just grateful to be around this table,

but also to be able to be a voice,

continue to be a voice but a voiceless.

Thank you very much, Rev. Dr. Luna.

Claire Skahn, do you have a closing comment, sir?

President of DDI,

Democrats for Diversity and Inclusion, go ahead, sir.

This is the time.

Now is the time, this is the place.

We gotta get organized, prepared now

for the coming elections.

The elections are in August with the general being in November.

We've got county council seats, judicial seats,

which are critical to make sure we are treated

in a fair and equitable fashion.

So we need to make sure that we're in tune

and aware of and participate in all of these elections

at all those different levels.

And that we work with the city, county, and state government

to make sure that programs and services

that our communities need are addressed.

Legislatures got less than a week.

I think it's a week from tomorrow to get done

and they're not moving too fast,

but the last 10 days, they'll get a lot of stuff done,

but we need to make sure it's the right stuff

and that it is to the advantage of our community.

So please communicate with your legislator's,

let them know how you feel about things,

get everybody in your family, friends, neighbors,

grandkids, et cetera, registered to vote, prepared to vote.

And just kind of stay tuned, the elections

are less than six months away from now to August.

Okay, well, thank you very much.

So, Heyward, you and I'll be working diligently

on the April 4th event that's coming up

and we will definitely will be a matter of fact,

really having a radio world at three o'clock on Saturday.

There will be a recording that Reverend Dr. Linda Smith

Cloud, Heyward, myself, we're involved with,

that will be airing and it might be available right now

on YouTube, I'll find out.

So, thank all of you very much

and I look forward to continuing to work with you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Yeah, I got a few announcements here.

First of all, the National Association

of Minority Contractors will have a meeting on Thursday

this afternoon at 5 o'clock, the featured guests

are Acting Director of the Washington Office

of Minority Women Business Enterprise.

Her name is to Neil Johnson.

Earl Keith in the Washington Department

of Transportation was on the agenda

to talk about the mega projects.

Well, no, I'll take a take back.

John White from Washington DOT

will talk about mega projects and Edson Savala

from South Transit will also be on that agenda.

And then next week, my friend Irene Reyes,

and drug later, they will have a meeting

on March 11th, 4 to 5th, 30, and that's their monthly meeting.

And that will be, as a matter of fact,

in person meeting at Sound Transit Union Station,

401 South Jackson, I think that she has this agenda up

on so people can actually see it.

And then on another event they're having

is on March, on April 30th,

we'll talk more about that.

So I want to, again, give a shout out

to all of the sponsors of Urban Forum Northwest,

the City of Seattle's purchase of construction services

department, CTAG Barg Group LLC,

that's Rodel Neil and Jerry Whitsitt.

They're trying to keep the Africa lounge open.

We don't know what that deal is on that yet,

but they have the mountain room bar.

Then we also have the Sound Transit Office

of Civil Rights Equity Inclusion with Daphne Cross,

the Port of Seattle's and Diversity Contracting Office

with me and Rice is in charge.

Concourse concessions, that's David Pukahara.

They have Capity Arc on the North Satellite Concourse A

and the world-famous Hachiko Restaurant on Concourse C.

Okay, and that's just about it.

March, April 4th is a big event.

As Hayward Evans indicated,

that is the 58th year that since Dr. King has been assassinated

and look, we can't let all of his work

and his life go down in vain by not knowing

what we need to do right now.

We all have to recommit, rededicate ourselves

and I really hope that the clergy,

our clergy gets involved and Cloud, I'm happy to see

that you're going to get the unions involved

and then if Dr. Lillian Roverson

and get the medical community involved,

I think we'll be all right.

MLK, sure.

Okay, I think we'll be all right.

So anyway, thank all you look for

to talking with you and working with you

because we have work to do.

The country is going sideways by somebody

that shouldn't have been in office.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

But you guys have something to say?

Yeah, I wanted to say to Dr. Roverson,

are you guys going to be talking about healthcare

and universal healthcare at this next event?

And New Begin?

We're going to be talking about a thing.

We're out of time.

We have to go there to New Beginnings on March 15th,

at one o'clock and we'll have some more information

next Thursday.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Eric.

Thank you, Eddie.

We got you.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.