The State of the Central District: A Community Forum

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The 2nd Annual The State of the Central District: A Community Forum, will take place on Tuesday, March 11, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., in Schafer Auditorium (Lemieux Library) at Seattle University.

This is an annual event that began in March 2007 as part of a service-learning class project where students were charged with the task of collecting data on the impact of gentrification in Seattle's Central District. This year, students will present their findings and a panel of key community leaders will address the findings and the current political, economic and social climate of the Central District.

The panelists are: James Bible (President, Seattle-King County NAACP), Garry Owens (Department of Neighborhoods, City of Seattle), Lynn Domingo (Legacy of Equality, Leadership and Organizing), Andrew Miller (Miller Park Neighborhood Association), Jim Mueller (JC Mueller LLC), Professor Henry McGee (School of Law, Seattle University) and Professor Flora Wilson Bridges (School of Theology & Ministry, Seattle University).

The findings of the first report, The State of the Central District Report (2007), will be unveiled, which we hope will continue an ongoing dialogue and call to action within the community about this issue. This event is sponsored by the Departments of Cultural Anthropology, Sociology, Social Work and Global African Studies, Washington Educators for Social Justice, the Seattle University Center for Service and Community Engagement and Professor Le Xuan Hy, the Pigott-McCone Endowed Chair.

[Notes from Andrew Taylor:

1) I believe I am the Andrew Miller mentioned above: they did invite me.

2) John Perry from Squire Park pointed out this 2003 U-DUB thesis on the same topic, which provides useful background

3) The format of the event is as follows:

6:00 – 6:10 – Welcome and introduction of our panelists
6:10 – 6:40 – Student Presentations
6:40 – 7:30 – Panel Discussion
7:30 – 8:00 – Q&A and Open Discussion with the Community

4) Notes from the organizers:

In preparation for tomorrow’s community forum, here are the questions that we will engage you all with during the panel discussion. Some of the questions will be asked of certain panelists, given your various positions in the community. We envision that panelists will respond to questions and to one another in an open, fluid exchange of ideas and experiences. In addition, panelists will field questions from the audience during Q&A.

Describe the changes to the Central District from your vantage point as a leader community.

• How have these changes affected the populations that you work with?
• What are some of the challenges that gentrified communities face with respect to civic engagement and neighborhood relations?
• What does equitable urban development look like? How have different entities in the community worked toward equitable development?
• What are some recommendations that you can make that will help foster more collaborative community relations, dispel stereotypes of different populations and ensure that all residents (regardless of socioeconomic background) benefit from urban development?

There may be one or two questions that come specifically out of the student presentations that we may ask the panel to respond to. Since the panel discussion is less than an hour long, 5-6 questions should be enough to spark conversation.