“Okay. So, I feel like what has happened is, is that it’s messed it up to where our communities, our people are not together, broke up the neighborhoods, and people are spread out everywhere, where it’s hard for us to come together as a group of people. And then, you know, you take the CD, for example, it doesn’t look like it used to look years ago.”
“The way that gentrification itself has poisoned black communities across the country, but particularly the central district now Columbia City, which they’ve split into Hill in, and are attempting to do with Raynor Beach is that they are forgetting that we won’t let them erase our history. We won’t let them pretend that we didn’t help make this a place for them to want to come to and engage with us. Gentrification has allowed us to mobilize in ways that the church used to, which is why I appreciate the Africatown ecosystem because it’s a collective of folks. African stolen ones, blacks, African Americans, American, Africans to show our view of brilliance, put our brilliance on the showcase. Without that they can pretend that we don’t exist. So, the movement, like Africa tell, with the festivals and the collective is how we plan to continue to show our brilliant. Please don’t put the coffin in there. Stop showing. And showing our brilliance and allow us to connect with folks we’re just coming to this area. who say, where are the black people? We are here, and we will not let you forget that. So for that, I wouldn’t say that, gentrification gave us every leg to mobilize.”
“My response to the impact of gentrification in the central area for one is money, power, Having money is power. But having unity is power. What happened in the central area is that we lost the unity of the blacks. The church community number one. And then the community of social people. And so the problem, that’s the problem is the unity has left the central area and that’s how they can come through and do what they do is because if we stand for something, then we live for something. And so that’s the problem that we’re having with white folks and black folks is that it’s not even on the black and white thing. It’s the thing we work together as a community. a community is unity. And if we come together with unity, with our money, then they can never subdivide us. It’s because we got power. to conquer anything that will come against the unity of black people.”
“As a second generation immigrant, my parents moved here and bought a home in the CD. Over the years I have heard them talk about how much the CD has changed. Gentrification meaning the displacement of certain groups of people, particularly Black people can have a devastating affect on anyone or community who experiences it. I do remember being young and my block was majority Black , but now when I stop by to visit my parents, it is different and I imagine that is due to the affects of gentrification, redlining and those racist policies.”
“The CD will never be the same due to gentrification. The Black neighborhood’s displacement has changed the face of the Central District forever. What once was a beautiful Black community has now been dispersed all across King and Pierce counties as far south as Puyallup. But when needed we do come together. “
