52.3 F
Seattle
Tuesday, February 18, 2025
type here...
Home Blog Page 2

Seattle Man Uses Late Mother’s Caramel Recipe To Turn Pain Into Purpose

By
Seattle Medium
-
Hudson shows off the Baby Bye cake at the Fremont Winter Feast under the Fremont Bridge on Jan. 25, 2025. Markets like the Fremont Winter Feast are Mama Row’s Caramel’s main form of outreach. (Photo: Cameron Delfin)
Hudson shows off the Baby Bye cake at the Fremont Winter Feast under the Fremont Bridge on Jan. 25, 2025. Markets like the Fremont Winter Feast are Mama Row’s Caramel’s main form of outreach. (Photo: Cameron Delfin)

By Cameron Delfin, The Seattle Medium

“Ah, shucky shucky now!”

At farmers markets around the city, you can find Jonathan Hudson selling caramel cakes and brownies named after things his mother used to say. Mama Row, as she was called, had many phrases now infused into the company her son named after her.

Hudson launched his company Mama Row’s Caramel in 2023. Its products include individually packaged cakes and brownies with a caramel topping, and he sells mostly through community events like farmers markets. Mama Row’s Caramel also offers special-order cakes.

The Discover Burien sign marks their shared kitchen along a sidewalk in the town center. Mama Row’s Caramel bakes all of their products here. (Photo: Cameron Delfin)

Hudson started Mama Row’s Caramel after his mother passed away from leukemia. Launching a business using her caramel cake recipe was a way to turn the pain of her passing into the purpose of spreading the love she showed him, according to Hudson.

“My mom taught me the recipe in 2001. I knew the product was good,” said Hudson. “This is something I liked to do with my mom and it connected us.”

His mother’s energy is infused throughout the brand. Beyond products named after things she used to say, Mama Row’s Caramel engages in philanthropy throughout the city, serving the community much like Hudson’s mother used to.

Hudson’s mother was a school teacher and in 2024, Mama Row’s Caramel donated $500 worth of product to Seattle Public Schools for auctions and staff, according to Mama Row’s newsletter. The company also donates to local food banks and recently donated $300 to the American Lung Association.

Hudson volunteers in school programs. Previously, he was on the Seattle Public Schools’ Parent Advisory Committee. In March, he’ll begin volunteering with the Kingmakers program. The Kingmakers program is a Seattle Public Schools endeavor focusing on building self-esteem in Black male middle and high school students and offers mentorship opportunities.

Community is central to Mama Row’s Caramel, both externally and internally. The team is mostly composed of people Hudson went to school with at Alabama A&M.

One of those people is Craig Mitchell, chief marketing officer of Mama Row’s Caramel and godfather to Hudson’s daughter. He met Hudson in college and the two have worked on other entrepreneurial projects leading up to Mama Row’s Caramel.

“When he decided to bring the company to life, he was supplying so much joy to so many different people,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell’s job is to ensure Mama Row’s story is told throughout the brand. That story is a story of family, warmth and care, according to Marilyn Beeman, Hudson’s aunt and Mama Row’s sister.

“He’s probably thinking about his mom every time he shares with someone. It’s the love. She taught him how to make that caramel,” Beeman said. “His mother was a warm person. He wants to share that with them.”

It’s that love and tradition Mitchell brings to the brand.

“We take her memory and her spirit and apply it to the story we’re telling about the product,” Mitchell said.

Beyond naming products after her sayings, Mitchell has lots of personality from Mama Row to help bring the brand to life using her signature recipe as a baseline.

“It’s more than just the ingredients. It’s what we call it,” Mitchell said. “Her resilience. Being a single mother raising two young boys turned kings. She did not play either.”

Fremont Winter Feast attendees sample Mama Row’s Caramel products on Jan. 25, 2025. This includes both their cake and brownie. (Photo: Cameron Delfin)

With that same resilience, Hudson has big dreams for the future of Mama Row’s Caramel. The company doesn’t have a food truck yet, but that is one of their many aspirations. Instead, they bake out of a shared commercial kitchen in Burien. The commercial kitchen is organized by Discover Burien, a service organization meant to sustain Burien’s local economy, according to their website. Discover Burien puts on the Burien Farmers Market, one of many markets Mama Row’s Caramel frequents.

Mama Row’s Caramel is also part of two business accelerators that provide mentorship and funding: the University of Wisconsin Food Finance Institute’s National Food Fellowship and Urban Impact Seattle’s Ignite Accelerator Program.

“They catapult food and beverage companies to be scalable and fundable,” said Hudson. “They’re working on different things like building out all of our equipment, our layout for our manufacturing plant, our cash flow, our bundles.”

Mama Row’s Caramel has a packed calendar for the next few months, including setting up shop at ESSENCE Festival and the Washington State Fair, returning to Alabama for A&M’s homecoming and launching a Kickstarter campaign, according to Mitchell.

In the Emerald City, Mama Row’s Caramel is one business in a landscape of many. But Hudson believes that there is much that sets Mama Row’s apart from others.

“What makes us unique is our story. What makes us unique is our product. What makes us unique is our service and our purpose and our mission behind everything we do,” said Hudson.

Administration’s Slash-And-Burn Campaign To Dismantle Education Is Disastrous

By
Seattle Medium
-

by Marc H. Morial 

(Trice Edney Wire) – “Presidents Trump and Musk and their billionaire buddies are so detached from how Americans live that they cannot see how ending public education and canceling these contracts kills the American Dream. This is not about Democrats versus Republicans. This is about billionaires versus the middle class. If kids from working class families do not have access to schools, how can they build a future?”  — U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro

The Elon Musk-led slash-and-burn squad euphemistically known as the Department of Government Efficiency has revoked the contracts of researchers who are years into the collection, analysis, and study of educational data.

It has pulled about 100 Department of Education employees, including those with even the slightest connection to diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, from their jobs.

At her Senate confirmation hearing, the nominee for Secretary of Education – an extremist advocate for diverting public funds to private schools – outlined her plan for dismantling her own department.

Meanwhile, extremist allies in the House of Representatives were preparing legislation to divert the resources slashed from educational initiatives to billionaires.

The current administration appears recklessly determined to sabotage our nation’s competitiveness in the new technology-based economy by undermining federal oversight and support for education. Openly mocking its own legal and moral duty to eliminate educational opportunity gaps as “wokeness,” the administration will abandon students in underserved communities, shifting ever-more resources toward the wealthiest Americans.

The Department of Education has been a cabinet-level agency for only 46 years, but opponents of educational equity have been trying to eliminate federal oversight and support for education since shortly after the Civil War. Just a year after President Andrew Johnson signed a bill creating the first Department of Education, resentment over the education of formerly enslaved people led to the demotion of the agency to an office within the Department of the Interior. 

Federal support for education remained relatively feeble for nearly a century, until the landmark Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965. Part of President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty, the Act represented the first significant federal investment in primary and secondary schools and a commitment to closing the achievement gap. 

Both Republican and Democratic presidents have reauthorized the Act over the years, most notably 1994’s Improving America’s Schools Act under President Bill Clinton, 2002’s No Child Left Behind Act under President George W. Bush, and 2015’s Every Student Succeeds Act under President Barack Obama.

The Trump administration is drafting an executive order that calls on Congress to eliminate the Department of Education, but members are unlikely to defy the strong public sentiment in favor of it. Only 29 percent of voters want to see the Department eliminated, and nearly 70 percent support increased funding for education. 

A clue to the motivation behind the administration’s unpopular and disastrous campaign against education lies in Musk’s own publicly-declared desire to displace American-born engineers with lower-paid immigrants.  He falsely claims that Americans aren’t educated enough for the work, but seems determined to make that claim a reality.

Roy Wood Jr. Jokes About Tulsi Gabbard’s Qualifications For Director Of National Intelligence

By
Seattle Medium
-

Comedians and conservative attorney George Conway join Roy Wood Jr. on “Have I Got News For You,” to discuss Tulsi Gabbard’s confirmation hearings for director of national intelligence. The show airs on CNN Saturdays at 9pm ET/PT and is released on Max on Sundays. Watch the full episodes on CNN.com

Axios Senior Contributor On What We Know About Controversial Quote Trump Shared

By
Seattle Medium
-

President Donald Trump faces new backlash after offering a guiding philosophy for executive authority: “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.” Axios senior contributor Margaret Talev joins CNN Newsroom to discuss.

Eastside Catholic Rallies To Defeat Garfield And Claim Metro League Girls Basketball Title

By
Seattle Medium
-
Eastside Catholic's Tatum Carter going against Garfield's Lena Most, last night in the Crusaders, 52-47, victory. Staff Photo/Aaron Allen.

By Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium

The Eastside Catholic Crusaders and the Garfield Bulldogs battled it out last night at Seattle Pacific University for the title of 3A Girls Metro champions. The Bulldogs, who came into the game as the four-time defending state champions, were looking to take home another Metro League trophy at the end of the night. However, Eastside Catholic had other plans. The Crusaders, who started the season 2-4, lost four of their last six regular season games before knocking off the #2 and #3 seeds in the Metro League tournament, upset Garfield, the #4 seed, to win the 2025 Metro League championship, 52-47.

Eastside started the game with Sophie Lugolobi shooting a technical shot due to a uniform violation on Garfield, converting two points before the game started. Despite the setback, the Bulldogs got hot early as they went on a 9-0 run, with senior Jayda Lewis leading the way with five points during the run. Noticing the momentum that Garfield was building, the Crusaders temporarily stopped the bleeding as Lugolobi ended the Bulldogs’ run with a three-point shot, making the score 5-9. However, following Lugolobi’s three-pointer, Lewis went on a scoring fury, chipping in seven points, as the Bulldogs went on a 9-1 run to end the quarter with an 18-6 lead.

At the start of the second quarter, Eastside Catholic’s Amy Nduka was sent to the free-throw line, where she converted one of two free throw attempts. Tatum Carter and Nduka then both chipped in four points to narrow the gap to nine, at 20-11. Despite the efforts of Carter and Nduka, Garfield was able to maintain control of the game, as Lena Most and Lewis collectively scored 10 points in the second quarter. The Bulldogs held a 28-23 lead before Garfield’s Star Smiley hit a three-point shot at the buzzer to give the Bulldogs a 31-23 halftime lead.

Eastside started the second half with possession and slowly but surely began to cut into Garfield’s lead. Carter, who chipped in seven points in the third quarter, was determined to help her team get back into the game. Lewis picked up her third foul of the game, sending Nduka to the free-throw line, where she converted both free throw attempts to give her team their first lead of the game at 38-37. Carter then added a jump shot that pushed the Crusaders’ lead to 40-37. The Crusaders, who outscored the Bulldogs 17-8 in the third quarter, went into the final period holding a one-point, 40-39, lead.

“The first half was not ours at all. But we stayed within fighting range,” said Eastside Catholic Head Coach Darnellia Russell after the game. “Not getting down deep, [we had] to try and fight our way out. In the second half, I switched up the defense to a 2-3 zone, and it slowed Garfield’s offense all the way down, and we just kept climbing back [into the game].”

The first three minutes of the final quarter were relatively slow, with little action on either side of the ball. With 5:22 remaining in the fourth quarter, Garfield Head Coach Roydell Smiley called a timeout to regroup his team and strategize how they could start connecting on their shots again. The timeout proved effective, as Mariah Roy came out and immediately knocked down a three-pointer to tie the game at 42.

Shortly after, Smiley picked up her third foul, sending Eastside Catholic’s Nduka to the line for an and-1 opportunity. Though Nduka’s free throw attempt was unsuccessful, teammate Lugolobi secured the rebound and put it back for two points, giving the Crusaders a 46-42 lead.

With two minutes remaining in the championship game, the energy in the gym was electric. Roy responded with another clutch three-pointer, cutting Eastside’s lead to just one at 46-45.

As Garfield looked to take the lead, Eastside Catholic’s Tavia Carter came up with a crucial steal off a pass from Lewis. The turnover led to an open three-pointer for Lugolobi, forcing Garfield to call a timeout with 40 seconds left.

Coming out of the timeout, Nduka was fouled and converted one free throw to extend Eastside’s lead. However, moments later, Nduka picked up her fifth and final foul, sending Garfield’s Most to the line. Most calmly sank both free throws, bringing the score to 51-47 in favor of the Crusaders.

With just nine seconds remaining, Eastside Catholic sealed the victory as Lugolobi added another point from the free-throw line, securing a 52-47 championship win over Garfield.

Lugolobi led all scorers with 21 points, while Tatum Carter finished the game with 15 points, and Nduka finished the night with eight points and 11 rebounds to lead the Crusaders. Garfield was led by Lewis and Most, who both finished the night with 13 points.

After the big win, Eastside Catholic Head Coach Darnellia Russell was ecstatic and extremely proud of her girls for the comeback win.

“I’m just so happy that my girls played together. They were definitely nervous,” said Coach Russell. “We got the lead in the fourth and never looked back.”

“I am just so proud. Especially of my freshman Sophie Lugolobi—she was getting steals and hitting tough shots. I overheard her saying during the half, ‘I do not care, we are not losing this game!’ Words I love to hear!” added Russell. “Also, my freshman Amy Nduka and sophomore Tavia Carter were working hard on the boards and getting steals! [It was] just an all-around team effort!”

Rainier Beach Vikings Claim 3A Boys Metro League Title In Thrilling Game

By
Seattle Medium
-
Rainer Beach's Nyale Robinson drives past Garfield's Doni Burkett in last nights, 89-77, victory for the Vikings. Staff Photo/Aaron Allen.

By Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium

Last night, fans packed the gym at Seattle Pacific University for the 3A Boys Metro League Championship game. The #1 seed Rainier Beach Vikings took on the #3 seed Garfield Bulldogs in the third ‘Hood Classic’ game of the year. The Bulldogs, who are 0-2 in their matchups with the Vikings this year, were eager to avenge their regular-season losses to Rainier Beach and take home the 2025 Metro League title.

The game started with Garfield winning the tip, allowing JuJu Ervin to put up the first two points of the night. As expected, the opening quarter featured fast-paced play by both teams. The Bulldogs went on a 7-0 run in the first two minutes of the game until Rainier Beach’s Kaden Powers put up two points to end Garfield’s run. Following Powers’ first basket of the night for his team, Jaylen Petty and Powers collectively added shots to tie the game at 9-9 with roughly four minutes remaining in the first quarter. The Vikings, who started the game slow, began to ramp up their defense, causing the game to feel even more intense. Petty, who picked up two fouls in the first quarter, scored six first-quarter points, while Ervin scored eight to lead their respective teams. The score was hardly out of reach for either team, as they took turns alternating the lead.

Petty then made a trip to the free-throw line nearing the end of the opening quarter, where he converted both free throws, which he followed with a long three-point shot on the Vikings’ next possession to give the Vikings a 21-20 lead. Micah Ili-Meneese and Powers then added four points, as Rainier Beach extended their lead to 25-20. However, seconds before the clock hit zero, Garfield’s Isaiah Davis hit a three-point shot that would send the Bulldogs into the second quarter trailing 25-23.

In the second quarter, Beach began to dominate. Petty picked up his third foul early in the quarter and started taking more and more shots to avoid getting into foul trouble. Ervin, who chipped in four points for Garfield during the second quarter, was all over the court, seemingly outrunning the Vikings most of the time. However, Petty, who scored five points in the second quarter, started to set his teammates up with valuable shots. With an assist to Dre Morris and Powers, the Vikings built up a 10-point lead, including a trip to the free-throw line for Ili-Meneese, where he converted two free throws. The Vikings would enter halftime with a 10-point lead at 46-36.

The Vikings started with possession in the second half and quickly sent Garfield’s Doni Burkett to the free-throw line. After Burkett converted one of his two free throw attempts, the Vikings went on a 7-0 run, which included two points from both Powers and Petty and a near half-court three-point shot from Nyale Robinson. With five minutes remaining, the Vikings led 53-37, and the Bulldogs needed to turn the game around. Davis, who is known as a consistent three-point shooter, drained a three-point shot to end the Vikings’ run. Powers and Davis then had a battle, as they both scored for their teams on back-to-back possessions. Garfield’s Ohmono Bomet was then fouled by Ili-Meneese, who picked up his third foul of the night, and converted two points at the line.

With Rainier Beach leading 57-45, Petty lit up the court with another three-point shot to further stretch the lead. Petty then picked up his fourth foul with a little over three minutes remaining, sending Garfield’s Tripp Haywood to the line, where he converted both attempts to close the game to 13 at 60-47. In the final two minutes of the third quarter, Petty got an and-one after being fouled by Garfield’s KJ Hightower, successfully scored the extra point, and drained two three-point shots, one right as the quarter ended, as the Vikings took a 73-52 lead heading into the final quarter.

Opening the fourth quarter with a jump shot from Ervin, the Bulldogs started on the right foot. Shortly after, Ili-Meneese converted two points at the free-throw line, followed by four more points from Haywood and Hightower to cut the Vikings’ lead to 75-58.

In less than a minute, Powers picked up two quick fouls, bringing his total to four and sending Haywood to the line on one of them. Haywood capitalized, successfully converting three points before Garfield Head Coach Brandon Roy called a timeout.

Coming out of the timeout, Morris knocked down a jump shot, but Garfield’s D-Jack Jackson responded with a powerful dunk off a rebound, igniting the Garfield crowd. With three minutes left in the game, Davis hit back-to-back three-pointers, cutting the deficit to 84-71.

Morris clapped back with a smooth jumper, pushing the Vikings’ lead to 86-71. As the clock ticked down, Garfield went on a 6-0 run with key contributions from Bomet, Burkett, and Jackson, closing the gap to 86-77. In a final effort to extend the game, Garfield resorted to fouling the Vikings to preserve time. Robinson was sent to the free-throw line twice, converting three of his four attempts to seal an 89-77 victory for the Vikings.

Petty led all scorers as he finished the game with 27 points, while Powers had 24 points, and Morris chipped in 18 points to lead the Vikings. Haywood led Garfield with 19 points, while Ervin finished the night with 17 points, and Burkett ended the game with 15 points.

After the game, Rainier Beach Head Coach Mike Bethea celebrated the victory with his team and believes that the sky is the limit for his talent-loaded team.

“The guys are really buying in,” said Bethea. “They believe in each other and feel that if they can be on the same page as us coaches, the sky is the limit.”

‘Our Future is Bound by Their Past’– The Washington State Black Legacy Institute Keeps Black History Alive

By
Seattle Medium
-
On Feb. 1, community members buzz about the foyer, eagerly awaiting the ribbon-cutting. The WSBLI hosted its grand opening, inviting the public to the event free of charge. (Photo by Ayla Nye)
On Feb. 1, community members buzz about the foyer, eagerly awaiting the ribbon-cutting. The WSBLI hosted its grand opening, inviting the public to the event free of charge. (Photo by Ayla Nye)

By Ayla Nye, The Seattle Medium  

Jacqualine Savanna Boles’s rich, soulful singing accompanied by the warm tones of a piano, filled the frigid February air as people from across the greater Seattle area gathered in front of the newly established Washington State Black Legacy Institute (WSBLI) building earlier this month. 

On Feb. 1, WSBLI celebrated the opening of its West Seattle location with a ribbon-cutting and official welcome to the public. 

The opening also marked the launch of the organization’s next major event, a Black History Art Exhibition, showcasing paintings and biographies of historical Black figures from Washington state. The exhibition will be on display through the end of the month.

The WSBLI stands under a blue Feb. 1 sky, welcoming the community into its doors for the first time. The building will be open weekdays from 9 a.m to 5 p.m. until the end of February. (Photo credit: Ayla Nye)

The WSBLI building, located at 2656 42nd Ave SW, was officially acquired in November 2023 by Urban Black Community Development for $2.75 million on behalf of the institute. The building once functioned as a Christian Science church and was granted landmark status by the city of Seattle in 2009. 

Formed in 2023, WSBLI serves as a community space where people can engage in open conversations and learn more about Washington state Black history. The institute receives support through private and city funding, as well as county grants and donations. It offers an art exhibit and archive collection that includes films, videos, interview transcripts, documents, print media, photos and audio recordings. 

The institute found its roots in The Seattle Griot Project (SGP), an initiative that works to“preserve and promote lived Black history across generations and within the community” through digital archiving. 

Roger Evans, the curator of WSBLI and project lead of SGP, said that initially SGP was established to document the stories of elders in the Central District community before they passed on. The project kept evolving from there.

“After we started getting the stories we wanted, we asked them, ‘Did they have anything to validate their stories?’ And, of course, most of them had artifacts. So we started digitizing the artifacts,” Evans said. 

Evans said that as SGP’s work expanded, they needed a more formal, structured institution to support research efforts and to digitize analog content, leading to the creation of WSBLI. 

Right now, WSBLI and SGP’s main goal is to use the historic artifacts and documents they have collected over the years to create a curriculum focused on Washington state Black history. Evans said he hopes they will collect enough verifiable data to integrate the curriculum into Washington state schools. 

Evans emphasized that WSBLI and SGP are grounded in community. 

“Our efforts are designed around community–community betterment, community interaction and community benefit. So everything that we do is aimed at helping our community,” he said. 

Kateesha Atterberry, president and CEO of WSBLI and founder and managing director of Urban Black Community Development, kicked off the ceremony with a speech. Atterberry emphasized the importance of honoring and preserving Black legacy in Seattle and throughout Washington state.  

“We will focus on continuing to build the legacy that was built before us,” she said.

Councilmember Rob Saka can be seen on the far right watching as WSBLI President Kateesha Atterberry cuts the ribbon, signifying a major step forward for the institute and the community. The institute aims to raise enough funds to support staff so the building can consistently operate during business hours beyond February. (Photo by Ayla Nye)

Seattle City District 1 Councilmember Rob Saka made an official proclamation on behalf of Mayor Bruce Harrell and himself, declaring Feb. 1, 2025, as Washington State Black Legacy Institute Day. 

After the ribbon-cutting, visitors were invited to explore the new art exhibit, which features a series of portraits of Black pioneers from the Pacific Northwest. The collection was created by Tacoma-based artist Dionne Bonner, who has been painting for over 25 years.

Bonner said that she was never taught about these historical figures in school. So, when she learned who they were and the profound impact they had on the area, she was inspired to depict them through oil paintings. 

Dionne Bonner’s vivid portraits bring Black history to life at the institute’s Black History Art Exhibition, capturing the importance of these Black pioneers. The paintings are part of Bonner’s series, A Pioneering Spirit: A Fight for Liberty and Freedom, which was originally commissioned by the African American Museum in Tacoma and displayed there for several years before the museum was dissolved. (Photo by Ayla Nye)

“Our history is seminal to our survival, and I think that’s true for every group,” Bonner said.  “There’s so much that’s rich and important about Black history, and I feel that Black history is, on its own, important to the American experience.”

“We built this. This United States, and we played a huge role in the development of this land. Our future is bound by their past,” she said. 

Bonner emphasized the importance of creating spaces, such as WSBLI, where people can have open conversations about Black history.  

“It’ll help to educate not just this generation, but all the different generations. Young people, middle aged people, elderly people. I mean, everyone has something to gain from sharing information,” she said. 

Evans said that the exhibit will remain open to the public until Feb. 28, after which they will have private showings until the institute can fund staff to keep the building open for business hours.   

At the WSBLI’s Black History Art Exhibition, historic photographs of influential Black figures and businesses line the walls, offering visitors a window into Seattle’s vibrant Black culture and rich history. These photographs are part of the Black Heritage Society’s collection. (Photo by Ayla Nye)

The exhibit also highlighted historic photographs provided by the Black Heritage Society of Washington State (BHS), a partner of WSBLI. As the president of BHS, Stephanie Johnson-Toliver has been working in close collaboration with Evans and the institute. 

Johnson-Toliver said that she believes the institute’s work is integral to the Black community. 

“In a way, it extends our story of the Black people in Washington state. At the Black Heritage Society we gather, collect and manage primary sources of things that sit on shelves, really beautiful collections. But what the institute does is they take it a step further. They’ve been really instrumental in creating digital pieces from primary sources,” she said.

Incorporating a Black history curriculum into the school system is “absolutely critical” Johnson-Toliver said. “Black people helped to make up the full history of our state, and so it would be wonderful if we could figure out how to be able to create study guides that are related to the archive,” she said.

Evans said that restoring history through archives empowers and raises awareness within the Black community by helping people connect with their identity and heritage.  

He quoted famous poet Maya Angelou, “‘If you don’t know where you come from, you don’t know where you’re going.’” 

Black Girls RUN! Seattle/Tacoma Is More Than Just A Run Club – It Is A Sisterhood 

By
Seattle Medium
-
Sharon Chism and Maisha Gates, both members of Black Girls RUN! Seattle/Tacoma, begin running the Circle The Block 5K from the REI Store in Seattle on Jan. 26. Chism, a co-ambassador for BGR!, wears official BGR! gear after helping set up the event. (Photo by Ashlyn Bowman).
Sharon Chism and Maisha Gates, both members of Black Girls RUN! Seattle/Tacoma, begin running the Circle The Block 5K from the REI Store in Seattle on Jan. 26. Chism, a co-ambassador for BGR!, wears official BGR! gear after helping set up the event. (Photo by Ashlyn Bowman).

By Ashlyn Bowman, The Seattle Medium 

Sisters, friends, community. 

Those are the foundations of Black Girls RUN! (BGR!), a unique running club in Seattle/Tacoma that seeks to spread the joy and benefits of working out body and mind on the pavement. 

The national BGR! organization was founded in 2009 to provide Black women a supportive space to embrace running and walking, to pursue a healthy lifestyle and to address health disparities affecting Black women, according to Sharon Chism, co-ambassador of BGR! Seattle/Tacoma. 

According to the Black Girls RUN! website, African American women in the U.S. have some of the highest overweight and obesity rates compared to other groups. BGR!’s mission is to lower that number through a safe, supportive and empowering environment centered around fitness. 

Jiquanda Nelson represents Black Girls RUN! at the fourth annual Circle The Block 5K run and panel to celebrate and explore Black mental health and fitness, at the REI store in Seattle on Jan. 26. Nelson, the co-ambassador for the Black Girls RUN! of Seattle/Tacoma, is decked out head to toe in Black Girls RUN! merch to show support for her fellow members. (Photo by Ashlyn Bowman).

“One of the biggest things I love the most is the sisterhood,” said Jiquanda Nelson,  co-ambassador of BGR! Seattle/Tacoma. The Seattle/Tacoma chapter was established in 2013. Now, the group has grown to about 1,700 members.  

Each week, BGR! hosts two to three run/walk events across Seattle, with distances between 3 to 10 miles. Memberships and events are all free, with run information posted on their Facebook page. 

Nelson and Chism said they strive to make the runs accessible to all women, regardless of their running abilities or skill level. “So, even if you’re not running, because running isn’t for everyone, what we really want to encourage is for people to move their bodies,” Chism said. 

Nelson said BGR! ensures the events focus on movement over running, so more people feel welcomed. “We’re hyping up everybody. We’re not just hyping up the person who has the 8-minute mile pace, right, but we’re also hyping up the person with a 17-minute mile pace,” Nelson said. 

Nelson joined BGR! after moving to Seattle in late 2018. She said aside from her husband and children, she had no other family or friends in the area.

“They were my first family here,” Nelson said about the BGR! women.  

Today, Nelson has built a strong community and lifelong friendships with BGR! women; she even got a matching tattoo with a fellow BGR! member:  The word “Believe,” with the “B” designed as a “13.” and the “i” as a “1” to represent 13.1 miles. 

But Nelson was initially hesitant to start running.

“When Black women want to run or walk, the first question they ask me is, ‘What do you do with your hair?’” Nelson said. “And that’s usually a barrier for them even trying sometimes.”

Nelson and other BGR! members wear a Gymwrap headband, a Hairbrella or a BGR! Bondi Band when they run to absorb sweat, shield against rain and protect their hair.

“There is something about being able to connect with women who truly understand your experience,” Nelson said. One thing she appreciates most about BGR! is always having someone to talk to – whether it is about life milestones or issues at work or in relationships.

Me’Kyel Bailey, a member of Black Girls RUN! Seattle/Tacoma and a Washington state health policy adviser, and Les Sessoms, a Black Men Run Seattle member, talk before the Circle The Block panel at the REI store in Seattle on Jan. 26. Bailey and Sessoms discuss Black mental health, sharing their own experiences with mental health and offering resources and advice to audience members. (Photo by Ashlyn Bowman).

Me’Kyel Bailey, a BGR! member since 2021, describes Nelson as a big sister and mentor. The feeling is mutual among other BGR! members. 

“I would say from many of the friends I met through the group, a lot of us do think of each other as sisters and having a sisterhood and really caring for each other,” Bailey said. Support for one another is ingrained in BGR! Seattle/Tacoma’s culture. “There is just a sense of we have each other’s back, we’re family, we’re girlfriends,” Bailey said. 

Together, BGR! women will take yoga classes, explore coffee shops or attend concerts. They also go on race vacations, which they refer to as “race-cations,” where BGR! members travel together to complete a race. 

In November, Bailey ran her first marathon alongside two BGR! members in Savannah, Georgia. 

“Once you are a part of BGR! Seattle/Tacoma, you are always part of it,” Bailey said.  

No matter the city, BGR! women offer friendship and exercise partners, welcoming women from different areas to join in on their local events through the “Find a Community” page on the BGR! website, according to Chism. 

Audience members at the Circle The Block 5K run and panel in the REI store in Seattle on Jan. 26 listen to the panelists Me’Kyel Bailey and Les Sessoms answer questions about mental health. Bailey, a member of Black Girls RUN! Seattle/Tacoma and a Washington state health policy adviser, believes mental health is just as important as physical health and should be prioritized. (Photo by Ashlyn Bowman).

“Knowing that they are there to support you and cheer for you, is just really, really nice and really warm and really welcoming,” Chism said about BGR! women. “It’s like having that familiar anchor that you can go to if you are in a different city.”

BGR! women live by the motto “no women left behind” in a race or an event. “We’re going to wait until the last lady finishes and then we’ll leave,” Bailey said.  

This sense of support and inclusivity is what makes BGR! more than a running club. It is a community, according to Bailey.

“If someone has anxiety, we want to let them know that they’re not alone and this is more than just a run group. We’re a supportive group and we are here for them,” Bailey said to those who may be nervous to join BGR! or start running. All it takes is showing up.
To become a member Black Girls RUN! Seattle/Tacoma, request to join the local Facebook page and answer a few short questions. 

Right-Wing ‘DEI Watchlist’ Targets More Federal Employees

By
Seattle Medium
-
Backed by the creators of Project 2025, the organization continues intimidating employees of government agencies.
Backed by the creators of Project 2025, the organization continues intimidating employees of government agencies.

by Jennifer Porter Gore

The far-right nonprofit organization behind an anti-diversity, equity and inclusion “watch list” has added the names and faces of employees from the Department of Justice, the Department of Education and the Department of Homeland Security government workers to the provocative website.

The American Accountability Foundation, the group behind the “DEI Watchlist” website, added the new batch of federal workers — most of whom are people of color, including members of the DOJ’s voting rights team — sometime between Tuesday and Wednesday morning. 

Then the organization gloated about it in a Substack post. 

“They call us racist, they imply we’re some sort of terrorist organization, and even demand we be prosecuted,” the post states. “Why? Simply because we dared to join President Trump’s war on the Deep State.” 

An Attempt to Intimidate

But federal employees’ unions and other supporters call the website — whose subjects  are mostly Black or Latino, and whose “offenses” consist of personal statements, social media posts or professional histories that lean left — a nakedly partisan attempt to intimidate professionals who are simply doing their jobs. 

Meanwhile, Maryland’s two senators, Democrats Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks, are holding an emergency meeting regarding Trump’s assault on the federal government. The Maryland suburbs surrounding Washington, D.C., are home to thousands of federal employees who are frightened, angry, and confused. 

The senators’ meeting could be a sign that Democrats are organizing resistance to Trump’s plan to upend the federal government and slash its workforce.

A Connection to Project 2025

Led by a former Republican Senate staffer and linked to Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s blueprint for a government overhaul, the AAF entered the spotlight when news broke about the website.

Mimicking a criminal most-wanted poster, the stark, black-and-white website has rows of black-and-white head shots with names and identifiers underneath. It includes “dossiers,” on each person — including the actions that landed them on the so-called “watchlist.” 

Initially, the website featured some 50 mid-level and senior employees who work for the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other public health agencies.

Those listed on the site had originally been identified as “targets” because of “offenses” linked to diversity, equity and inclusion, addressing issues of concern to minorities, or speaking openly in favor of racial equality. 

Part of the Attacks on Civil Rights and DEI

Appearing amid Trump’s attacks on civil rights and DEI programs in the federal government, the website went viral among several private group chats of federal health workers from government agencies. 

Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, told Word In Black the website is a “flagrant” attempt to intimidate public health workers and scare them away from improving healthcare for all.

“It is clearly designed to frighten and distract them from their legal, lifesaving and ethical work,” Benjamin says. 

He later told the news agency AFP that the website and the information on it invites the kind of “doxxing” and harassment unleashed on Ruby Freeman, the Georgia election worker whom Trump supporters publicly targeted and falsely accused of fraud after the 2020 presidential election. 

Freeman, a Black woman, says Trump’s supporters tormented her with death threats, phone calls and other forms of harassment. She later won a million-dollar judgment against Rudy Giuliani, a former Trump confidante who was part of the effort to target her 

Endangering Worker Safety 

Putting names and photos on a provocative website “puts people at physical risk,” Benjamin said. He also hopes someone with legal standing will file suit. 

One of the CDC employees told AFP that they are anxious but are not backing down. 

“First, it was a little bit of fear,” the person said, “Is my life about to change forever? Then, I think it turned into a bit of anger.”

The site published each employee’s name, photo, job title and other easily available public information. But it also included academic transcripts, political contributions, social media posts and detailed information about that person’s work history. 

Supposed DEI Offenses

AAF targeted one person for giving the thumbs-up to a LinkedIn post from a connection who contributed to a book on race. Another person made the list for helping people sign up for the Affordable Care Act — during Obama’s second term about a decade ago. Still another was identified for updating their Facebook profile picture during the coronavirus pandemic: “Stay Home Save Lives.”

Led by Tom Jones, a top aide to Republican Sens. Jim DeMint of South Carolina and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, a summary on the AAF web page claims the organization deploys “aggressive research and investigations to expose and neutralize” bureaucratic threats to the far-right “America First” agenda. 

“Every day, our work is exposing the truth behind the people and groups undermining American democracy and threatening the freedoms of the American people,” according to the website. 

The site also says the AAF staff is composed of “researchers, analysts, and former legislative and campaign staffers with decades of experience holding policymakers accountable for their actions.”

Late last month, AAF received $100,000 in funding from The Heritage Foundation — the same organization that created Project 2025, a 900-page manifesto the Trump administration disavowed during the campaign, according to AFP. But Trump’s recent steps to reorganize and slash the federal workforce is straight from the Project 2025 list of recommendations for transforming the government.

DeMint, Jones’ former boss, is a former president of The Heritage Foundation.

In an interview with The Guardian, Jones scoffed at complaints that the DEI watchlist has endangered the workers identified on the website, challenging them to show any threatening communication they’ve received. 

“What it really is is a cowardly way to change the subject,” he said.

The Unequal Weight Of A Drug Test 

By
Seattle Medium
-
At trauma centers, youth of color are more likely to be tested for substances. With overdoses rising, why aren’t all kids tested equitably? (Credit: Studio642 via Getty Images.)
At trauma centers, youth of color are more likely to be tested for substances. With overdoses rising, why aren’t all kids tested equitably? (Credit: Studio642 via Getty Images.)

by Anissa Durham

When a teenager arrives at a trauma center after a car crash or sports-related injury, the immediate priority is to save their life. The doctors stabilize them, run tests, and prepare a treatment plan.  

But somewhere in the flurry of activity, a decision is made — one that has less to do with their medical condition, and more to do with who they are.  

New research shows Black, American Indian, Hispanic, uninsured, and female adolescents are more likely to be screened for drug and alcohol use at pediatric trauma centers across the country than their white peers. 

With drug overdoses being the third leading cause of death in adolescents in 2022 surpassing car accidents and gun violence, some say the disproportionate screening of minority youths isn’t necessarily the problem. 

Why Screenings Are Inequitable

Trauma center staff might decide to do a blood screen of a teen because they need to make sure any medications they administer don’t conflict with drugs or alcohol. No patient consent is needed. And there are no specific guidelines providers are required to follow when deciding whether to screen adolescent trauma patients.  

Health care providers who decide to screen a pediatric patient for substance and alcohol use, take blood and urine samples to test for any range of cannabis, opiates, amphetamines, methamphetamines, MDMA, and alcohol. Dr. Jordan Rook, a general surgery resident at University of California, Los Angeles says the tests commonly exclude synthetic opioids, which currently drive the surge in drug overdose deaths.

Rook spearheaded the research to identify where providers are going wrong when screening injured pediatric patients. After analyzing data from more than 85,000 adolescent patients, Rook and his fellow researchers found that nearly 25% of youth from marginalized communities were screened for alcohol use and about 22% were screened for drug use.  

“That’s where some of my concerns with the guidelines come into place. It’s kind of left up to the providers to determine how they want to do the screening,” he says. “Do they have a system where all patients get an interview-based screen? Or do all patients get a biochemical screen, or do they leave it up to the providers to make that decision?” 

To get a better idea of which adolescents are being screened, Rook analyzed data using a method to control for reasonable factors that would influence a provider’s decision to do a biochemical screen.  

“What was left over were these inequitable patterns of screening,” he says. “That’s where I become concerned that providers are selecting patients they deem to be higher risk for substance use disorders and active intoxication.” 

Dr. Lorraine Kelley-Quon, senior author of the report and an associate professor of clinical surgery, says while on one hand adolescents of color are more likely to be screened for substance and alcohol use, not enough adolescents from other demographics are being screened. 

“I’m in the prescription opioid and substance use space, I can tell you people do not think of children when they think of the opioid epidemic,” Kelley-Quon, who works at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and the University of Southern California, says. “People aren’t used to thinking about that when they think about pediatric health.” 

And, she says, it’s very challenging to find support for adolescents who are uninsured or on Medicaid. 

The Burden and Danger of Stigma 

Since interview-based and biochemical screenings are left to the discretion of providers, intervention and prevention care usually is, too. The American College of Surgeons released best practices guidelines in 2022, to help providers in trauma centers screen for mental health disorders and substance use, and follow up with intervention. But it’s still only a recommendation. 

The stigmatization of substance use is common within health care settings, and Rook worries this could keep injured adolescents who may be struggling with substance or alcohol use disorder from seeking treatment. A positive drug or alcohol test result could make it easier for providers to blame a young patient for what happened to them.  

Credit: Jonathan Knowles via Getty Images.

“Our job is to take care of the patient, no matter how they got there, and provide them with the best care possible,” Rook says. “There’s a push these days to make trauma care more humanistic and remove these stigmatizing biases.”

The issue extends beyond the hospital, too. Adolescents from marginalized communities are already over-policed and are more likely to be screened for substance and alcohol use. A positive test, Rook says, could lead to an arrest and conviction, contributing to the overcriminalization these communities already face, as medical records can be subpoenaed in criminal investigations, like if a patient was driving under the influence.  

Kelley-Quon says things need to change at the policy level as well. 

To make things more equitable, she says, providers should screen all adolescents who come into a trauma center for drug and alcohol use. Doctors should also provide young people who are struggling with substance use disorders with interventions and referrals. 

“When a child comes in after an injury, this is a moment in their life where you could change the trajectory of their decisions,” Kelley-Quon says. “If you’re not screening for substance use and referring people, you’re missing that moment to make a lifesaving intervention.”

123...3,382Page 2 of 3,382

© 2024, Tiloben Publishing Co., Inc. All Rights Reserved.

About Us

Popular Category

Info