Simply Soulful Café's newest location in the Central Area on 23rd and Jackson is the perfect place to go for some good old soul food to help take your mind off of the cold and, at times, gloomy weather here in Seattle. After relocating their restaurant to 23rd and Jackson, the new location offers twice the capacity of their original location in Madison Valley, with an upstairs meeting space, additional seating, and a parking garage.

Trae Holiday sat down with Federal Way-based community leader and author Evan Cook to discuss his work with you in South King County, his impact on the City of Federal Way, and his most recent book 'How My Soul Speaks.'

Trae Holiday sat down with Sam Cho, the Director of Strategic Initiatives for the Office of Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, and Ollie Garrett, the President and CEO of Tabor 100. Both the City of Seattle and Tabor 100 are core partners in Seattle's Liberty Project, a program and component of Mayor Harrell's Downtown Activation Plan created in 2023 that focuses on aiding local businesses from underrepresented communities, particularly BIPOC, to grow in revenue and expand both business ventures and properties. 

Last week on The Day with Trae, guest host Deaunte Damper sat down with Jessie Howard, the Director of Community Engagement at the Therapy Fund Foundation, a Washington-based nonprofit focused on "eliminating barriers to Black healing" and providing mental health services and resources for the Black community, free of charge. Recently, the organization partnered with Pierce County Health Department to provide mental health services for youth who are being directly affected by the Fentanyl crisis. 

Converge Media is proud to have a long-standing relationship with the Black Heritage Society of Washington State. As the leading historians of our community and our stories in the Pacific Northwest, BHS seeks to preserve artifacts and stories of Black history and culture in the state.

Looking for a hairstylist who can keep you looking sharp? Look no further than Ena'Vative Hair Studio! This Black Owned salon, owned by Seattle native Ena Robinson, recently opened in the Federal Way Commons mall and offers a variety of cosmetology services, including hair, nails, and makeup. But that's not all - they also offer a unique training-based structure through their program "Level Up Beauty Bootcamp" by Ena'Vative, which provides essential foundational haircare courses for both licensed and unlicensed students.

Seattle-based artists Moses Sun, and barry johnson, recently wrapped up their two-month tandem residency at The Understory. The public exhibit space, situated at the base of the Amazon Spheres, invited Moses and Barry to hold studio hours as part of Amazon's latest efforts to uplift the local arts community. Vivid Matter Collective Co-founder and Queen of Converge Takiyah Ward caught up with the duo to discuss their experience at Understory, their collaborative process, and the reception of their art.

There is a saying at Converge Media that "The uplift is real" and nothing epitomizes this phrase more than the consistent uplift of Black-owned businesses across our region by TraeAnna Holiday and her show The Day with Trae on Converge Media and Besa Gordon and her show Back2Besa on KCPQ FOX13 Seattle. Episode after episode there is a consistent and intentional uplift of Black-owned businesses across our region, especially Black woman-owned businesses.

Seattle, WA. (Jan. 29, 2024) – Ezell’s Famous Chicken, a fast casual fried chicken restaurant with 16 locations in Washington and one location in Oregon, is proud to celebrate its 40th anniversary this February. Started by one sister and two sets of brothers from East Texas, today founders Lewis Rudd, Darnell Rudd and their sister Faye Stephens are still active in day to day operations, joined by an extended family of about 300 employees. The family-owned and operated business, which serves up chicken, sides and more made fresh from scratch at each location, first opened its doors on February 3rd, 1984 in Seattle’s Central District after waiting six years for initial funding. Since opening it has gained a loyal fan base, made many famous friends, and has established a strong tradition of giving back to the community.

This winter in the Pacific Northwest has brought everything from wind and rain to freezing temperatures and even snow! But just because the weather isn't ideal doesn't mean you can't be warm and fashionable. After Seattle experienced historically low temperatures, Besa turned to her personal stylist, Akia Ronai, for some winter fashion advice.

A decade-long journey culminated in a momentous occasion on January 18th, as the Skyway community in West Hill celebrated the groundbreaking of the Skyway Resource Center. This milestone comes after an inclusive Community Center Visioning Process and years of local engagement in comprehensive planning.

Boon Boona Coffee, owned by Efrem Fesaha, celebrated five years of being in their Renton location on Sunday, January 14th. The event was not just a celebration of their success, but of the community and local businesses that have supported them along the way. During the event, Fesaha expressed his gratitude towards everyone who has contributed to their growth over the years, including five local breweries that have used their coffee in brews. Among the breweries were Holy Mountain, Fast Fashion, Four Generals, Métier, and Hellbent.

Today, we revisit CD Panthers: The Marathon. This film took a look at the historic and beloved CD Panthers youth football and cheer program, which has been positively impacting the lives of children in the Central District for decades.

Every third Saturday of the month, #Back2Besa is joined by Anthony and Marlie Love of Traveling While Black, to get their tips on how to live your best life in Washington State by suggesting things to do, and places to visit. This month, they gave us their recommendations for where people should live when moving to Western Washington.

This Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Black Heritage Society of Washington State (BHS) and the Black Genealogy Research Group (BGRG) of Seattle will be hosting a workshop entitled "The Power of Black Narratives: Claiming Your Story" at 9:15 a.m. on the Garfield High School campus in the Central District of Seattle. In the video below, you can learn more about the workshops from Stephanie Johnson-Toliver from the BHS and Brenetta James from BGRG, as they explain the importance of not only learning our history but documenting and memorializing it.

Trae Holiday got her start with Converge Media in the company’s early stages, working alongside Founder Omari Salisbury as a content creator and reporter. Fast forward, and Holiday was the host of the Morning Update Show, a COVID-focused show which morphed into one of Seattle’s leading sources for news and current events.

In case you missed it, in the South End of Seattle and Rainier Beach Community Center is where Rob Ross, who is the founder of United Business Connections, held a Black Vendors Market where over 25 Black businesses were gathered with a lot of self-care items, plus clothing and accessories that uplifts Black beauty and Ezell's Famous Chicken even stopped by and feed the community.

Joining Trae Holiday on this episode of The Day With Trae is K. Wyking Garrett, the current CEO and president of the Africa Town 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.

Starting the New Year, Trae Holiday is back with a brand new season of The Day with Trae. For this first episode, Holiday is joined by life coach Heru Tchaas Amen for Mindfullness Monday, a segment happening now every Monday. The founder of Heru Health, a holistic life and wellness service focused on helping others find peace and balance within their daily lives, Tchaas Amen offers a variety of programs on how to transform one's life positively by integrating various meditation exercises and visualization practices into one's life. In this episode, Tchaas Amen, an advocate of energy work, explains his "FIVE" tips for living a balanced and healthy life: "focus on one's energy work," set intentions with purpose, and visualize success every day.

Jonathan Batista, the pioneering Black Principal Dancer at the Pacific Northwest Ballet, adds another accolade to his illustrious career.

Awarded the prestigious Entertainer of the Year 2023 title by POCAAN, Batista’s triumph arrives a year after his historic elevation as the first Black Principal in the ballet company’s history.