DEVELOPMENT MOVEMENT IN GREATER BLACK SEATTLE:

UPDATE ON HOW THE MOVEMENT IS GOING AND WHAT THE MAYOR’S OFFICE IS DOING

Prof. Carl Livingston, Dr. Thad Spratlen, Dr. Valerie Hunt, Prof. Charles Jeffreys & Prof. Esther “Little Dove” John

2 October 2014

PURPOSE

•Present information on the continuing economic crisis in greater Black Seattle

•Provide an update on how the movement is going that followed the news conference at SCC last May

•Make a case that something like an economic conference to garner a significant increase in contracting with Black businesses

A CRISIS•The Need for Immediate Response to the Economic, Educational and Housing Crises in Greater Black Seattle

PROFESSORS INVOLVED• Dr. Thad Spratlen• Professor Emeritus of Marketing, UW Foster School of Business

•  • Dr. Valerie Hunt• Adjunct Business Professor, Seattle University School of Business and

Seattle Central College

•  • Prof. Charles Jeffreys• Psychology Professor, Seattle Central College

•  • Prof. Esther John• Adjunct Psychology Professor, Seattle Central College

•  • Prof. Carl Livingston• Political Science Professor, Seattle Central Community College

News Conference Meeting 28 May 2014

•Reason for the News Conference

•Details of News Conference•Mayor Murray’s Great Gesture (“Invite Me Back in a Year”)

AGENDA• Clarifying the Agenda Prof. Carl Livingston 11:00• Welcome President Paul Killpatrick 11:03• A Student’s Perspective BSU Student 11:05• Who and Why We Are Prof. Esther “Dove” John 11:08• Economic Crisis Dr. Thad Spratlen 11:11• Educational Crisis Dr. Valerie Hunt 11:13• Educational Crisis Prof. Charles Jeffreys 11:15• Economic Crisis & Action Prof. Carl Livingston 11:18• Presentation of Document Prof. Carl Livingston 11:21• Words from Leaders Mayor Ed Murray• Councilpersons• Rev. Richard Willis, President of UBCC• Ms. Pamela Banks, President of Seattle Urban League• Questions and Answers

DISTURBING FACTS• Blacks are the last hired and first fired still (NY Study http://www1.cuny.edu/mu/forum/2005/06/16/study-finds-nyc-employers-discriminate-against-ex-offenderswhite-job-applicants-with-a-record-do-better-than-blacks-with-none/ )

• Blacks are suffering most in the Great Recession• Blacks have the smallest multiplier in their community (2-3; whites 5-6; Jews & Chinese 7-8)

• Blacks have the lowest percentage of businesses relative to their numbers

SYLLOGISM A•Major Premise: A people’s economic crisis results in Educational disparities and shelter needs—and vice versa.

•Minor Premise: Black Seattleite’s are a people in economic crisis.

•Conclusion: Black Seattleite’s economic crisis is resulting in educational disparities and shelter needs—and vice versa.

SYLLOGISM B• Major Premise: Whenever any group’s under-employment nears Great Depression levels, government must respond with strong stimulus to that group’s economic crisis. [Great Depression Programming and Great Recession TARP I& II]

• Minor Premise: Seattle area African Americans under-employment is near Great Depression levels.

• Conclusion: Government must respond with strong stimulus to Seattle area African American’s economic crisis.

• Blacks performing among the lowest on standardized tests

• US incarcerates more than another other country in the world (twice more than the #2 country); US incarcerates Blacks at a rate more than 3 times their percentage in the population

• Washington State incarcerates Blacks at a rate 5.5 to 8 times their population percentage

• Blacks are not only incarcerated in Washington State at a rate that is 2 x worst than Mississippi’s, they are among the most incarcerated on earth (Something is wrong with us in Wash.)

REV. DR. SAMUEL BERRY MCKINNEY

•“We are the last, the least, the lost, the left out and the locked up”

•(And I add, “the locked out”)

SUBSEQUENT MEETINGS, MAYOR’S OFFICE

• 3 Meetings so far• 1st meeting: (June) with Deputy Mayor Hyeok Kim and Brian Surratt Office of Policy & Innovation, formerly in Seattle Office of Economic Development

• 2nd meeting: Surratt leading and Kim assisting (early July)

• 3rd meeting: Brian Surratt (late July) and new Deputy Mayor, Kate Joncas President of the Downtown Seattle Association (first hired June 11th)

RESULTS WITH MAYOR’S OFFICE• Can do attitude from the Mayor• Deliberations with Mayor’s staff on what to do but no meeting

of the minds• Had to come up at the end of a meeting the mayor called in

August and inform him that things were “dead in the water with his staff”

• Mayor asked me to set up a meeting with his personal secretary John Bailey immediately

• Meeting with the Mayor the next week: it was then that I got the impression that the mayor’s administration is Promisor/Deliverer and Idealist/Realist relationship with him and staff.

SUBSEQUENT MEETINGS WITH PASTORS AND URBAN LEAGUE

• Pastors• Urban League• Seattle Office of Economic Development: Director

Stephen Johnson, Lance Randall, • Race and Social Justice Initiative• Washington State Department of Commerce

• Crisis still exists• Some improvements of Black community in 2013 and first

half of 2014• Too Black Seattleites still in recession• Structural employment challenges so real some are

discussing increasing acceptable level of unemployment (went from 3.5% in 1975 to 5-6% in 1985; now discussion as high as 7%)

• Conference proposal to Bring Immediate Stimulus to Black Seattle (Livingston’s Idea)

WHAT WILL YOU DO?• Galvanize you to speak and act to stop it (reactive)• Mobilize you to help Blacks with the kind of development

that helps them help themselves (proactive)

Historic Difficulty of doing Substantial Public, Economic Programming in African American Communities

• Reconstruction Era Programs Barely got off the ground• Roosevelt’s New Deal Programs did some good but not enough• Great Society Programs: Model Cities, Job Corp, VISTA,

Community Action Program• Southern Strategy Great Society Program Cuts• Wes Uhlman (Mayor 1969-1978) did some things• Affirmative Action checkered success, now gone in some places

like this state• Recent Mayors Uninterested in Substantial Programming in

Black Seattle: Royer, Rice, Schell, Nickels• Mayor Rice’s Promising Reconciliation Project Aborted• The 2 McGinn half terms (2008-2012)• Mayor Murray’s Promise

This involves more than Mayor• Office of Economic Development (Stephen Johnson)• Parks and Recreation• Office of Arts and Culture• Office of Housing• Seattle Housing Authority (under Federal Housing

Authority)• Race & Social Justice Initiative (Mayor’s Office)• Seattle Center• Seattle City Light• Seattle Department of Transportation

Possible Reasons for Historic Difficulty

• Intentional Racism• Institutional Racism• Can’t afford it• Blacks and certain other ethnic groups “Lagging

Indicators” • Notion of “Black Hole” or Waste: CAMP in 1970s, Silas

Potter and S. Public Schools Public Contracting Diversity Program 2012

• Waiting on Community Capital / Infrastructure• Waiting on the Community Leadership

The Annual Meeting Upcoming with Mayor Murray, May of 2015

What You Can Do to Help• Distribute and have discussions about the Crisis

document• Write to the Mayor’s office about the Crisis in Black

Seattle• Have discussions about how to bring immediate stimulus

to Seattle communities still in the recession• Write to the Mayor’s office about the need to have a

conference to raise stimulus to help Seattle communities still in the recession

• Do your own mass action calling for Seattle’s leaders to address the problem of Seattle communities still in the recession