![]() ![]() Jacobs.Īs the forum continued, more speakers talked about community resources, politics and legislation, like Dominique Davis of the non-profit Community Passageways, CAAA commissioner Todd and E3 Engage Educate and Empower president Clarence Gunn. “It wasn’t until recently that mental health was taken seriously,” said Sgt. The officers answered questions that related to mental well-being, being part of the community and what motivates their work, among others. Clarence Tolliver, Officer Micaela Castain and Officer Joe Wisniewski of the Renton Police Department. Towards the end of the forum was an open discussion with Sgt. “When we look at institutional racism, this is why,” said Horn. A school was never built on the land, but it was eventually sold to developers. ![]() Houston’s family’s property was taken in order to build a new school under eminent domain, which would allow the dispossession of private property for public use under special circumstances, with financial compensation. “Renton School District took the land after two houses were burned and a bomb went off in the front yard,” said Houston, who has shared his story before, most recently at the January Renton School Board meeting earlier this year. Long-time Rentonites, the two talked about the city’s rich Black history, from the Hilltop area that was settled by Black families to the Greenwood Cemetery which holds Jimi Hendrix’s memorial to the Houston homestead in the Highlands, where John Houston’s family thrived as pig and livestock farmers until the late 1960s when they were forced off their land by the school district. One of the most profound parts of the forum was when Horn and John Houston, two Renton leaders who created the “Virtual Tour of Renton African-American Historical Sites,” spoke. One of the backdrops of the forum was King’s painting depicting Craig Hodges, Colin Kaepernick, Tommie Smith and Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, which he referred to as “the history of protest through sports.” “My stuff is heavily influenced by documentaries I’ve watched, music I listen to,” said King. Twin brothers Blaise and Channing Gistarb, 9, of Sartori Elementary School in Renton, recited the poem “Hey, Black Child” by Useni Eugene Perkins, and 12-year-old Spotlight Dance student Elleanna Smith put on a beautiful dance performance.Īrt was also a small focus of the forum, where Seattle painter Rodney King shared his perspective on art. The forum didn’t just include adult speakers, but student performers as well. ![]()
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