Nearly 1,000 people filled East Union Street on Sunday as Africatown Community Land Trust celebrated its 10th anniversary with ReUnion On Union, marking a decade of work to preserve Black ownership, culture and community in Seattle’s rapidly changing Central District.
Presented under the theme “Still Here. Still Building,” the celebration transformed the block between 23rd and 24th avenues into a gathering place where music, food, storytelling and shared experiences highlighted both the neighborhood’s rich history and its future. More than a festival, organizers said the event reflected a decade-long effort to ensure Black residents, businesses and institutions remain rooted in one of Seattle’s most historically significant neighborhoods.
Founded in 2016, Africatown Community Land Trust was created in response to decades of displacement that dramatically reshaped the Central District. Through community ownership of land, affordable housing, commercial development and cultural preservation, the organization has worked to create opportunities for Black families and businesses to remain and thrive as redevelopment continues across Seattle.
Over the past decade, that vision has taken shape through projects including the Liberty Bank Building, Africatown Plaza, Benu Community Home and the William Grose Center for Cultural Innovation. Together, those developments have expanded affordable housing, supported Black-owned businesses and created spaces designed to preserve the neighborhood’s cultural identity while fostering long-term economic opportunity.
Sunday’s celebration came just hours after Byrd Barr Place transferred the First Right of Refusal for the historic Liberty Bank Building to Africatown Community Land Trust, another milestone in the organization’s continuing effort to strengthen Black community ownership in the Central District.
Throughout the afternoon, families, longtime residents and first-time visitors gathered around tables for a community Sunday Dinner, browsed Black-owned businesses and community organizations, and enjoyed performances by legendary R&B group Surface, local musicians and DJs. The event was designed to recreate the feeling of returning home while introducing a new generation to the neighborhood’s enduring legacy.
Among the most popular attractions was Grandma’s Living Room, an interactive installation where families gathered for Polaroid photographs surrounded by tributes to Black leaders whose vision helped shape Seattle. Nearby, visitors contributed to Our Family Tree by answering the question, “What legacy are you growing?” Their responses created a growing display of names, memories and aspirations that reflected the event’s broader message of preserving community across generations.
Artists, musicians and storytellers also helped celebrate the neighborhood’s resilience, with performances and exhibits honoring the people, places and history that have defined the Central District for generations.
For K. Wyking Garrett, president and CEO of Africatown Community Land Trust, the anniversary represented both a celebration of what has been accomplished and a reminder that the work continues.
“ReUnion on Union was especially meaningful as we are celebrating the first decade of Africatown Community Land Trust’s work toward a Seattle that includes a vibrant and thriving Black community. Today was about honoring our roots, celebrating our resilience, and demonstrating that even amid an unprecedented affordability crisis, we have the power to build a renaissance rooted in community ownership, cultural preservation, and shared prosperity,” said Garrett.
As housing costs continue to rise and redevelopment reshapes neighborhoods across Seattle, Africatown Community Land Trust has increasingly focused on community ownership as a strategy for preserving both affordability and cultural identity. Organizers said ReUnion On Union demonstrated how public spaces, local businesses, arts and shared traditions can strengthen those efforts by bringing residents together around a common vision for the future.
Although Sunday’s celebration marked the organization’s first decade, leaders emphasized that it also signaled the beginning of its next chapter. Africatown Community Land Trust plans to continue expanding affordable housing, supporting Black entrepreneurship and preserving the stories that define the Central District through ongoing legacy storytelling and future community development projects.
For many who gathered Sunday, the anniversary was about more than looking back. It was a celebration of a community determined not only to remember its history, but to shape its future.
