2026 Highlights
Reparations & Public Policy
- Helped secure unprecedented commitments to reparations from members of the Seattle City Council, King County Council, the Mayor of Seattle, and the King County Executive, advancing reparations from concept to public policy priority.
- Served as a key advocate for Washington State’s Reparations Study Proviso, establishing a framework for examining the impacts of slavery, segregation, redlining, displacement, and systemic discrimination and identifying pathways for repair.
Housing & Community Ownership
Helped advance more than $80 million in reparative housing investments designed to address historic barriers to Black homeownership, housing stability, and wealth building.
Continued supporting community-controlled development strategies that create permanently affordable housing, preserve cultural assets, and expand Black ownership opportunities.
Health & Wellness
- Celebrated the groundbreaking of the $40 million Tubman Center for Health & Freedom in Rainier Beach, expanding access to culturally responsive healthcare, behavioral health services, and community wellness resources.
Community Development
Celebrated ten years of Africatown Community Land Trust, which has grown into one of the nation’s leading models of Black-led community ownership and development.
Major Community Investments & Assets
Africatown Plaza
Helped advocate for and support the development of Africatown Plaza, a community-centered development representing approximately $52 million in investment and including affordable housing, commercial space for Black-owned businesses, and cultural space in Seattle’s Central District.
Benu Community Home
Helped secure the acquisition and preservation of the former Keiro campus, now Benu Community Home, representing approximately $14 million in community asset preservation and providing shelter, housing navigation, workforce development, and supportive services.
William Grose Center for Cultural Innovation & Enterprise
Supported the transfer and redevelopment of the historic Fire Station 6 property into the William Grose Center, representing approximately $8 million in community-controlled assets and investments dedicated to youth development, technology education, entrepreneurship, and cultural programming.
Youth Achievement Center
Helped advance acquisition and redevelopment efforts for the Youth Achievement Center, creating a permanent community asset dedicated to education, workforce development, technology, innovation, and youth opportunity.
Public Investments Influenced
Community Reinvestment
Helped advocate for the creation and implementation of Washington State’s $200 million Community Reinvestment Program, directing resources toward communities disproportionately impacted by the War on Drugs and systemic inequities.
Affordable Housing
Helped advance more than $150 million in affordable housing investments supporting community-led development, anti-displacement efforts, and increased housing opportunities for Black families.
Racial Equity Investments
Supported more than $100 million in City of Seattle investments aimed at addressing racial disparities and expanding economic opportunity, community development, and public health outcomes.
Health Equity
Helped advance tens of millions of dollars in healthcare investments, including the Tubman Center for Health & Freedom and other community-centered health initiatives.
Impact by the Numbers
- $200M+ Community Reinvestment Program (2022)
- $150M+ Affordable Housing Investments (2021)
- $100M+ City of Seattle Racial Equity Investments (2020)
- $80M+ Reparative Housing Investments (2025)
- $52M Africatown Plaza Development (2021)
- $40M Tubman Center for Health & Freedom (2020)
- $14M Benu Community Home Preservation (2021)
- $8M+ William Grose Center Investments (2020)
- Hundreds of affordable housing units created, preserved, or advanced
- Thousands of community members served through housing, health, education, workforce development, and cultural programming initiatives
The Work Continues
These victories demonstrate what is possible when communities organize, advocate, and remain steadfast in demanding change.
KCEN remains committed to advancing reparations, expanding Black land ownership, strengthening community institutions, increasing economic opportunity, and ensuring Black communities have the resources and power necessary to thrive.
Remember. Repair. Rise.
KCEN Wins: Moving the Dial for Black Equity
$200 Million for the Community Reinvestment Program for the Community Reinvestment Program, safeguarded from redirection by opportunistic politicians.
$150 Million for affordable housing development from the Washington State Housing Finance Commission, supporting projects like Africatown Plaza, the Ethiopian Community Center, Elizabeth Thomas Homes, Beacon Pacific Village, Village (North Lot), and the NP/Eastern Hotel
$100 million from City of Seattle.
$14 Million allocated for the Keiro acquisiton (now Benu Community Home), preventing predatory development and creating opportunities for Black community equity.
Transfer of Fire Station 6 to become the William Grose Center which opened in 2022.
Land Transfer for the development of the Youth Achievement Center led by Community Passageways & Creative Justice and Africatown Community Land Trust.
State Funding for Tubman Center for Health & Freedom’s two community-owned health sites in South Seattle, and a new 40,000-square-foot center set to open in 2027.
$1 Million secured for Black land ownership in Othello, supporting the East African-centered Family Empower Center and Community Housing.
Supported New Birth Center for Community Inclusion in securing legislative funds for phase 1 of Petah Villages, a trauma-informed early childhood education program in Skyway.
Over 4,000 actions to secure the Covenant Homeownership Act that provides up to $150K in down payment assistance to homebuyers who's families endured racial housing covenants.
Challenges Ahead
Despite these advancements, significant obstacles persist. Nationally and locally, there are ongoing efforts to disenfranchise the Black community, destabilize progress, and fund initiatives like the Fairness and Families agenda. Efforts in Evanston, IL, and even the state of reparations to Tulsa Race Massacre survivors are alarming.
Locally, attempts to divert funds from the Community Reinvestment Program, Participatory Budgeting, and the Equitable Development Initiative are concerning. Additionally, recent city planning lacks equitable strategies to protect vulnerable communities from displacement.
Call to Action
We urge non-Black-led organizations to refrain from competing for resources intended for Black communities. This perpetuates inequity and undermines our efforts towards justice and equality.
The Nonprofit Industrial Complex has grown into a billion-dollar industry over 50 years, disproportionately benefitting white organizations while Black communities have faced ongoing decline. This disparity must end immediately.
We also call for an end to the use of Black organizations as tokens by non-Black entities. Black communities are fully capable of directing and managing resources through our own channels.
With Juneteenth now a national holiday, we call upon our supporters to honor its significance by recommitting to supporting our critical work. Together, we can dismantle systemic inequities and establish a new norm rooted in equity for Seattle and Martin Luther King Jr. County.