the small business where was that cameroon central africa i'd like to thank the multimedia resources and training institute for having me here this morning to talk you bad been b a the best questions some of the best conversation about been beer today about the connection between the african diaspora in the u and the african continent i would like to thank everyone at multimedia resources and training institute for this conversation that we have had today and i also like to applaud you on the work that you are doing here in seattle washington i'm especially grateful to see my brothers here my age mates who are working with the use who are passing on knowledge and wisdom and also training the youth in modern technology also very grateful to be in the presence of someone who are crossed paths with before thirty years ago was also just a key mover and shaker here at the multimedia resources and training institute and especially happy to see how engaged the youth with the work that is being done here so i thank you and i wish you the best and keep on keepin on thank you and see you on thursday at the exhibit on being the thank you organization the more not  business i am really concerned about the consequences of their time and what they spent forty years first first my name is i have been living in to eighteen we make drug and alcohol referrals we do academic referrals we do mental health referrals we do you think point we do job readiness and a whole host of other services so we provide any service that the city of seattle provides for eighteen and over we provide for twelve to eighteen year olds how long have you been here in this place a prominent third i've been in this office for two and a half years so you pretty much know but what's happening up by the construction of the prominent taint there can you tell  things about it and how you feel about it well we understand that vulcan i believe paul allen group has bought the building and they're planning on destroying the building so we actually are looking for a new space and will be moving out in about a month and a half i think that it's not such a good transition for a lot of groups because you know this is very affordable rent and i'm sure the rents will double if not more than that which will make it almost impossible for small non profits to come back to this area to do business so can you tell us a few things i buy this place and how you become like part of this community like so i've been in this community for over seventeen years  doing work whether with the community centers or community based organizations we've done everything from employment to seeing a couple generations of young people move on through high school going on to college i've been around enough to see kids that were first graders that now have babies in the twenty four twenty five so we've seen a lot of positive change in the community we've seen a lot of young people do some really good things what is your organization give back to the community and to tie school students overall so our organization gives back hope we help young people with strategic planning academic planning life planning career mapping so we allow them to see that because their circumstances are out of their control being a kid that if they keep on pushing forward to some goals that we've established with the young people that these people can go and live a fulfilling life have good employment be able to give back to their families and be able to live a positive life that is not wrapped around drugs alcohol or crime what d kids and families come to for resources for help whether it's things that they can start doing in the next two days or things that they'll start doing a couple months down the road so right now we are the place for you to have find help resources if kids are out of town or the coming back from town or getting going into jail or getting out of jail we contact the young people in the families and we just make sure that they know where the resources are so you don't believe this is the right thing to destroy displace m b o by their construction sites well i believe this could be the right thing if the rents will remain somewhat affordable i think any time you invest millions of dollars into a project then you want to get your profit back which is why i say the fact that the rents will most likely double is very high you know if  hundred percent likely just because they've invested so much in the day the demolition and then the rebuilding and the new materials for a new place it's hard to do that and then have rents low so it's just part of the natural process but it just is happening in so many the work isn't contained to a particular area so we still have to do the work you can do this work out of your house because once kids and young people and families embodies the work then it's more of a life mission than it is a spare particular place  some new community hubs will have to be established as in the have to be other places in the community where people can go and find all the resources that are needed kind of a one stop shopping so for social services we would be considered a grocery store you'd be able to come in here and find you know a grocery store you can find your egg your milk your bread your all your staples similar to what we do here you can find drug and alcohol council you can find jobs you can find employment you can find academic help or in the schools or talking to counselors you know were associated with the m department so you can find a host of services so these community hubs have to pop up all over the city and hopefully that's what happens thanks so much for your time they'll be if today dude around here dares defend small businesses and know we have been partnering with this business for a long time and we have a gust next to men should be introducing herself to us hi my name is adrian day and i am in this  work out of this office for my company since twenty fourteen but i have been with my company since two thousand and twelve can you tell us a few things about this place and what displacements do you well i actually i'm telling you my age i'm forty four so i remember when this place came to be it started off as thrift way back in the day and it's transitioned over to red apple so i was a part of the history making i am assuming i was here when it started and i am i guess the last to you know be leaving and be a part of what is i guess left of the prominent scene that all the businesses have moved out we will also be moving out shortly right now looking for space but it's just going to be really sad because it is a community gathering place there are a lot of elderly units for people in assist living are retired living that live around this community who are how can i say they are dependent on the grocery store and some of the other businesses in the prominent so i do worry about where they're going to go how they're going to get their groceries and with this being gone i hope that they bring something back with for festivals that is affordable for them and you know meet so that they can continue i and the joy of soccer so you all have hired quite a bit of our youth that do programming through s y v p r i and they have been paid stipends and have been able to make money to achieve either take back to school in use for school clothes are some of them who are graduating have taken in and been able to use it with college so it's been a really positive relationship between us and then the children have also the youth have also been able to gain different skills things that they can take with them so say for instance in their high schools or their colleges they may want to join their media team or be on the paper or a reporter they know how to use tripods they know about the green screen they were able to me quite a few professionals out of the africa when they had the african cup soccer cup here so also the sounders so i think it's been a really great experience and partnership between us i'm sad that we're no longer going to be neighbors here in the near future and i also just look forward to seeing aussie and all of the people that come in and out of the door so yeah it is going to be different but we will still be in the central district and because we already have these pre established relationships will still be able to reach out to one another and still do business and partner so when you're going to be relocated from this place where will be for you to use to start to be great to start your business there because we're still in the process of signing a lease and going over paperwork i rather not let you know where we are going to be however i will say that we will be within the central district and we will probably be somewhere around the area not too far from the urban league yes you have any message you want to pass for the youths and for and for people who came around here i mean just we just need to all stick together and we hear things we need to inform each other we need to be considerate we need to also just not think that this is someone else's child but this child is also a community kid so the work that i do  work what you between the ages of twelve and eighteen however are excuse me twelve and seventeen they can come in our program but we do keep them there after but for me you know i'm strong respect education and just getting are you to the next level and so that's what i hope that the community can come together money clarence gun ok sure my name is clarence gun and i'm a member of the coalition immigrants refugees in communities of color sir and we have been partners and friends with him r t i for the last four years of supporting activities to help youth get programs and activities to increase their skills and abilities in the multimedia area you know anything about the construction that's happening   displace the current businesses in community individuals that have been here for a number of years and there's been a number of discussions and activities designed to try and change  mind in order to make sure that the residents of current residents and businesses that are here in the community have an opportunity to continue to stay here and receive employment for the community what you think about losing this place it's unfortunate there should be a way to have a conversation whereby the new land owners the developers can sit in with the community and talk about whatever issues concerns aren't see if there are ways that they can both work together to come to some mutual agreement renting space offering space providing jobs and services and programs for those that live and work in the area would be a great way to go to provide some transition assistance and support as well as opportunities for housing another support how long have you have you lived around here or worked with any  ahd been involved in this area for at least the last six years five six years and very closely involved with him r t i for the last four they've done workshops and trainings and videotape  functions for the coalition immigrants refugees communities of color so well i guess my first message would be don't give up hope it's not done yet until they start building it's not done and even then you can continue to impact things there are  community benefit agreements and ways to make sure the community's voice is heard and we just need to continue to raise our voice and make sure that it's heard from now and till of final action has been done i believe there are ways that this could potentially work out for all the parties and in some fashion where's there's housing where there are jobs where the current businesses could have some priority placement of the of their businesses in the new development there just multiple ways to look at the situation and trying to resolve the problem by working together what you're going to give back to the community or do they use the coalition immigrants refugees and communities of color has activities we also see and individuals down to your location here and the studio to be able to be interviewed and be part of your t v shows and and such so that you know you know we're jackson which is normally in the past been called the red line district which means that that was like the only place that african american could be in the city in the central seattle area so historically the central area was designated to african americans now it has been gentrified beyond belief to speak about what we do here at s y b p i we work with you around employment around the juvenile justice system we advocate for  them in the schools with that ministration we work with them within the community with families with by case management and a host of other enrichment programs and partnerships and networking within the community to build a stronger safety net for the youth that we serve because we know that there are adverse conditions that they live in including homelessness violence domestic violence sexual violence social economic despair distress and poverty and some other disparities that we could we have a long list so we don't want to go there right now right so so that's some a what we do in terms of what's happening in the community the community has been gentrified in the worst way we know that this is happening nationwide but what it has done in terms of the black community has displaced thousands of families a lot of our housing projects the holly park yes no tears rain or vista high par all of these places used to house  families asian vietnamese and african american so they have all been basically torn down rebuilt and a lot of the people that were removed from those house scene projects have been displaced out into cant in federal way and all of which are far south seattle so when that type of things happen the resources that normally exist in the central area and terms of license renewal or helping people get through the the system navigate the system to get their license which may have been suspended for whatever reason or energy assistance because we know that utilities are very expensive in many families can't afford it a lot of these families go to a resources that have been built into the community and now those agencies are now closed and they have taken on a new face and so folks who have been displaced out in the south end of seattle can't access to those resources because they no longer live in the city but the same need still is their right and then as i was saying back to what we do is help with which education with education getting kids prepared for college and you know working with them to improve their g p a offer and credit retrieval programs and things of that nature that has been very helpful very helpful program but we still in this city are facing a sixty year achievement gap between brown and black students in our white counterparts and there's plenty of data to support that so it may seem like a uphill battle but we're here we'll be moving though by the way i don't know we have to move most of the businesses in this area have been closed this location that we have been at for several years will be closing and we will be leaving in moving somewhere else within the central area so that we can continue to provide services so we will let you all know where we're at we will still be your community partners and i'm sure you will be moving at some point too because that's just the name of the game so we need to keep each other informed about where we're going so we can continue doing the work and serve our community collectively as we say the african d a spore us not just you or them it's us that's what it's all about peace so you you said you talked about of a lot about displaced and what does displaced really means to us how long yeah well displacement basically means the places that  many of us have grown up in my my parents and some of my other relatives and friends and people that i know means that they no longer have those places to go to those places have been bulldozed over or for as i'll just name a few things like these are staples in the community capice corner is gone is now a waffle place the facts newspaper one of the first newspapers black own newspapers in our community in the central area is now a doggie day care they've been displaced to the fringes of madrone a part when we talk about displacement we're talking about camp central area motivation program we've been or been around for forty years thirty forty years there now since what is it a century something is something now but it's no longer in the community and it was a place that can't was a place for energy assistance it was a place for people who were in the reentry program to come out get jobs get reintegrated into the community was also a food bank there was a lot of resources that were there for the community and those are the resources when we talk about displacement when people get moved off to can't they can't access to resources here and there are no resources out there not as they are in seattle seattle has a bigger pot and pool of resources compared to the south of seattle because you know we're business what do you know about the construction in general and vulcan company well what i know is they spend a lot of money acquiring the property that we sit on which is historically owned by a black family for many many many many many many women like some decades right like many thirty to fifty years old now they no longer own it it's been bought by paul allen this property along all the way to mt break a church which is right next door heard they acquired it for seven million dollars so everything that we know that it's historically been is gone and that's what i know and what i also know is that we got to go period there is no eloquent way to say it i did hear that though that they were you know we got to keep the community intact which i don't know how that could ever possibly be but you know we'll see so your organization washington middle school drama drama to garfield to franklin and all the inner agency schools we work with all the kids as i said the african diaspora so what that means is we serve all of our youth and they don't have to be brown and black but that just happens to be the population that we're serving in this area we work with students from all over the globe right we don't discriminate we've had people you know say we need to have something special  queue whatever it is we receive them and we serve them and treat them with dignity and respect period of living sense so we know what we don't discriminate and we don't look when it comes to serving we serve everybody right so you can be who you are our branch we are responsible and i think we've been here for like five years now in this particular location but we've been in the central area serving you families for many years do you have any message that you want to  empower us i want you guys just what you're doing right now this is a wonderful thing it's a beautiful thing but just know that you can do anything you put your mind to learn to love yourselves learn to love each other learn to respect your elders and the communities that you live and work together always never forget where you come from never forget that we all deserve black lives matter we all matter and black love matters even more peace thank you so much for your time hi my name is glenn and i've been living in the central area for about forty years and my understanding is that they're getting ready to tear down all of the promenade and i t just breaks my heart because i have been coming to red apple for forty years and not only that the computer they have computer classes free computer classes for the for the the community to come in and take computer classes free that's going to be gone it's just horrible and you know where else am i going to go because i live in the neighborhood i'm going to have to go far to go to red apple now i'm not going to be able to have the computer class no longer i just is heartening it's just heart wrenching for them to come and take this community out to build condos and people can't even afford what they already have and i think it's just  the the staff that they have there they're very community friendly when you go into red apple they're always smiling ready to help you and it's just not going to be the same any longer how long have have heard and what i have seen is that they're going to they've already got a lot of people out of the promenade i have a girlfriend that had a beauty shop here she had she had to move her beauty shop and go somewhere else now her rent is probably much higher then it was when she was here she had all of her good customers here that came to not only just to get their hair done but after they got their hair done they have the shop here where red means it means too big of a change for me having it's just a it's and i'm getting older i don't want to have to and i might not be able to drive pretty soon i don't want to have to get on the bus and go away across town to go to the grocery store or to go to a computer class that probably we're going to have to end up paying now you know and i don't we don't have money out of our pockets to pay for computer classes and that's learning how to deal with the computer that's the future and people have to know how to use that because that's going to be how we get to do a lot of things and that's not going to be in our community anymore and i'm i'm just hurt i'm very hurt and i hate to say this but black people i can't i have to say that black people their businesses are not going to be any more and where they're going to go to other places to pay more money to have buildings to pay their rent their mortgage  and they're going to have to pay more money so what i say is the rich get richer and the poor get poorer and i think it's a it's disgusting for them to want to come in here and put up high rises and people can't even afford the rent and so that's how i feel about the whole situation it's going to be a big change for the community and expression to me after being here for forty years my sister thank god owns a store down on martin luther king and jackson that they're not going to be able to touch that and that's one good thing so you can go to her chicken store right down there on twenty third and jackson but that has nothing to do with the red apple the promenade and  it's just disappearing the hair shop is no more the beauty shop is no more the bank is not going to be any more and it's just going to be torn down and i think it's terrible they're trying to separate things and i don't like  thank you so much for your time you're welcome and you have a wonderful day