Africatown’s K. Wyking Garrett stops by The Day with Trae
TraeAnna Holiday and K. Wyking Garrett at the Black Media Matters Studio. (Photo Jordan Somers)
Joining Trae Holiday on this episode of The Day With Trae is K. Wyking Garrett, the current CEO and president of the Africatown Community Land Trust (ACLT). In this episode, the community leader talks to Holiday about his organization's mission, how and why it was founded, and the numerous projects it's created to fight against gentrification and maintain Seattle's Black community in neighborhoods such as the Central District.
"Africatown Community Land Trust is one entity within our larger Africatown ecosystem which is focused on requiring and developing and stewarding land for our community to build and grow and thrive in place," Wyking Garrett said.
Since its creation in 2016, the ACLT has obtained multiple land plots and building sites, including the Liberty Bank Building, Africatown Plaza, and the William Grose Center for Cultural Innovation. Additionally, it's acquired spaces for black-owned businesses to occupy and thrive in. Wyking Garrett explains what this work means for Seattle's Black community.
"I think a big part of our work is changing the narrative and the concept of what's possible. I think prior to some of the projects we were able to get done, the story was that it was over for Black people in the Central District and Seattle in general," Wyking Garrett said.
Africatown, through each project, is battling against that notion. The Liberty Bank building, constructed on the site of a former black-owned bank by the same name that was the first of its kind in the Pacific Northwest, is the ACLT's first venture toward affordable housing. With the doors opening in 2019, serving the affordable housing market. It has 115 units aimed at Seattle's Black community members who have been displaced from the Central District. The building does more than provide equitable living spaces, as the bottom floor is occupied by black-owned businesses, such as Earl's Barbershop and the restaurant Communion Restaurant & Bar.
Another major project under the ACLT, in partnership with Seattle's Equitable Development Initiative, is The William Grose Center for Cultural Innovation. A former fire station that has transformed into a hub for several programs and workshops in 2022, the center promotes creativity among black students and teaches courses such as fashion design, coding, filmmaking, how to make virtual reality, and other technology-themed classes.
"The William Grose Center for Cultural Innovation is probably my favorite. You get to go into a space and see the genius of our young people being nurtured and cultivated around being problem solvers of the future," Wyking Garrett said. The ACLT's most recent project, which will open sometime in early 2024, is Africatown Plaza. Like the Liberty Bank Building, this plaza focuses on displacement and gentrification that has affected the Central District. The plaza will include 126 units and cater to families making "30-60% of the area median income," said Garrett. The plaza will also have a black-fronted retail space and a public art project honoring black families that make up the Central District.
Since 2016, the ACLT has built 600 living units and has raised 300 million dollars invested in funding for their projects. While the organization focuses on highlighting the history of Seattle's black community and preserving neighborhoods such as the Central District, Wyking Garrett is adamant about building a future for these areas as well.
"We didn't just want to be a historic district of murals and plaques of what used to be but rather living memorials where the activity that's inspired by the past is happening as the greatest honor to the past," Wyking Garrett said.
For the entire conversation between Holiday and Wyking Garrett, click here.
Make sure to catch The Day With Trae every Monday - Friday at 11 am.
