On February 27th, Seattle Central’s College Activities Board and the Northwest Film Forum co-hosted an event entitled “Black Future” in the Erickson Theatre.
The event featured numerous speakers, including hip-hop artist and entrepreneur Raz Simone; Chef and community leader Tarik Abdullah; poet, organizer, and interdisciplinary creative Hanan Hassan; Editor-in-Chief of Seattle Collegian Astro Pittman; Librarian & Learning Communities Chair Sharon Spence-Wilcox; and entrepreneur and music major Naudia Miller. The purpose of the forum was to look at the future of the black community, discussing issues and positing possible solutions. The panelists also took time to acknowledge the work of past activists and urged the audience of the event to follow in the footsteps of those people.
The takeaway from the event was that all people, not just those in the African-American community, must unite to pull off any significant change. Bringing up their own personal stories, the panelists stressed the importance of being open-minded and supportive, as well as noting how crucial it is to be critical of news and media. They also encouraged the audience to not only take care of the community as a whole but to also nourish themselves physically and mentally. The second component, they said, is especially crucial; an educated populace is a populace capable of making decisions based on fact, rather than prejudice and stereotypes.
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