Racial-justice issues spur 2-day forum
For the fourth time in as many months, the issue of race in Seattle will be examined at a public forum, which begs the question: Is this more "racial navel-gazing," as a local writer recently labeled it?
Are race relations strained, bruised or broken, as organizers of this weekend's forum suggest? Or is the issue overblown, something the media and minorities continually raise as a problem when it's really not?
The weekend event, "A Community Action Conference on Racial Justice," today and tomorrow at Seattle University, is sold out. Five hundred people — the maximum capacity — preregistered.
"This is a group of people who want to come together and who believe the work needs to be done," said George Griffin, conference organizer, who works at a Seattle public-affairs firm.
"We have an opportunity to take our level of activism around racial justice to another level," added Darlene Flynn, an employee in the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods and another conference planner.
Conference organizers include those working in nonprofit groups, city offices and criminal justice. Funded through private donations, the weekend is billed as a way for "like-minded people" to focus on eliminating racism and reversing disparities in education, criminal justice, health, housing and employment.
The impetus behind the conference was a call for a citywide summit on race relations and economic equity made last March by Griffin and James Kelly, executive director of Seattle's Urban League.
Three fatal police shootings of blacks in a 22-month period prompted community demands for greater police accountability. And though inquests later concluded the shootings were justified, they sparked street marches, public forums and a boycott of a Central Area Starbucks, regarded as a corporate leader that ought to take a stand on police reform.
At one of the protests, a man struck then-Mayor Paul Schell in the face with a bullhorn. Racial disparity once more was raised by James Cordell Garrett, who was convicted of second-degree assault.
The police shootings could have been regarded as a mostly African-American, inner-city problem. But they were accompanied by the unprecedented violence of Mardi Gras 2001. The death of 20-year-old Kristopher Kime, who was white, convinced some the riots were largely the result of black-on-white street violence.
Combating racism became a community cause. "Race forums" were organized by the Urban Enterprise Center, a group affiliated with the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce.
In late 2001, the Church Council of Greater Seattle initiated the "Year of Action Against Racism and White Privilege in the Northwest." Mayor Greg Nickels, then a mayoral candidate, pledged to improve race relations if elected and called for a "race summit."
In October, Seattle University hosted its own two-day "Race, Space and Place: Living in America" conference. In November, the state sheriff's association convened a two-day "Cops and Culture" workshop. In December, the King County Bar Association helped organize a "Race, Class and the War on Drugs" forum that looked at racial and class disparities.
Local writer Matt Rosenberg, who used the term "racial navel-gazing" in a Seattle Times guest editorial published in November, rejected racism as a prevalent problem, citing numerous discrimination complaints that were dismissed by state, county and city officials last year.
But conference planners say any person of color knows racism remains a problem, and they see this weekend's conference as a practical step.
"I've seen a lot of discussion about how bad the inquest process is," Griffin said. "I've yet to see someone say, 'Oh, here's a model that works.' "
City officials say demographic changes are sweeping across Seattle. Counting Hispanics, one out of every three residents is a racial minority.
"There are fiscal and psychic costs to not dealing with racial issues," said Mickey Fearn of the city's Office of Policy and Management, hired in December to help coordinate Seattle's racial and social-justice efforts.
"Not everyone who wakes up in the city regards it as a thriving, healthy place."
Information about the conference is available online: www.seattleraceconference.com
Florangela Davila: 206-464-2916 or fdavila@seattletimes.com.