By Aaron Allen
The Seattle Medium
“Tis the season”, no I’m sorry, it’s not Christmas but it is election season, from the national stage to communities, people are pondering on who to vote for, in their leadership.
On a local level, The Seattle/King County chapter of the NAACP will be holding elections for the storied organization and oldest NAACP branch west of the Mississippi. Current President Gerald Hankerson will have to fend off a challenge to his seat by Rev. Carl Livingston. Livingston, who brings both a legal background and a stellar resume as a community activist to the position, says that he is running because there is a need to restore the legacy of the NAACP, its influence, and the relationship the organization has with the its community.
“I would like to see the NAACP begin to do some major things, help move our community forward, and to restore this important association,” says Livingston of his decision to run for president.
Livingston, a native of Tacoma, has resided in the Seattle area since the 1980s. He is a graduate of Oral Roberts University, Tulsa, Oklahoma and received a law degree from Notre Dame School of Law. After completing his education, Livingston returned to the Pacific Northwest to begin work as an attorney with the law firm Ulin, Dann and Lamb, where he practiced construction and design litigation in 1987.
According to Livingston, this experience placed him at the forefront of Black contractor issues throughout the region. At the time, Black contractors were what Rev. Livingston called a “vibrant set of contractors.” However, he soon discovered that this optimism was overstated when it came to the opportunities that were available to them.
This was the origins of his community activism. Since that time, Livingston has been actively involved in many initiatives in the Black community. He was involved in the Mayor’s Office and Community Reconciliation Project, an effort to restore trust between the community and government. He was instrumental in bringing awareness and action against the Seattle Police Department as it relates to issues of brutality and discrimination. He also worked with former Seattle King County NAACP President Carl Mack and other community leaders on the shooting of African Americans by police officers.
Livingston’s community activism has reached into education as well as he fought to prevent the closing of several predominantly Black schools in Seattle such as T.T. Minor, Martin Luther King Elementary, and the Thurgood Marshall School.
“They [Seattle Public Schools] wanted to close down T.T. Minor, Thurgood Marshall, and Martin Luther King elementary schools, all schools that had a high Black student body, and schools that were important to our heritage,” said Livingston.
“We were able to save Thurgood Marshall,” he continued. “[And] we were able to at least, make a case for Martin Luther King that later helped First A.M.E. get control of the site.”
Livingston’s activism also placed him in the fight for Black contractors against Sound Transit, as they tried to increase minority participation in contracting and employment opportunities during the construction of light rail project. According to Livingston, Sound transit made agreements with the community that they did not follow through on.
“I refuse to let this thing die because [I believe] they owe this community money,” said Livingston as it relates to his ongoing pursuit of economic justice from Sound Transit on behalf of the community.
Livingston’s platform for the election stems from his belief that the NAACP needs a change in leadership and direction. He feels that the current leadership has not done enough in building a progressive coalition with the community that it is suppose to serve. His goals for the organization include: restoring the legacy of the NAACP and its relationship with the community, increasing membership, engaging the membership in the priorities and decision-making process, the handling of all complaints more effectively, obtaining economic growth through contracts and jobs, and securing better funding for the facilitation of the organization.
“It’s not to say that the current leadership is terrible, I’m not trying to say that,” said Livingston. “I’m trying to unify this community. But, if the current leadership is not good enough for such a storied and important organization to our community, new leadership is necessary.”
“If this vision speaks to you and you want change, let’s restore the Seattle/King County Branch of the NAACP to its greatness,” said Livingston. “It’s time to defend and develop our community all over MLK County.”
