The Neighborhood at the Center of It All

Conversations about arts venues in Seattle's Central District neighborhood led to stories of creation, loss and preservation.

The first season of the Black Arts Legacies podcast started as a story about arts spaces. Specifically, in four episodes, listeners have explored the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute, the James and Janie Washington Cultural Center, the Northwest African American Museum and Black Arts/West. Connecting these places is the Central District, a neighborhood that needs its own episode.

For this episode, host Brooklyn Jamerson-Flowers revisits interviews from the first four episodes and reflects on her own observations to tell the story of the neighborhood’s past, present and future.

It is a journey that begins with the vibrant music scene of the ’60s and the activism of the ’70s, then continues into the rapid process of gentrification, continued activism and arts of the ’80s and hip-hop in the ’90s. 

The journey ends with the continued effort to preserve Black arts spaces and build new ones because there is room for so many more. It is an effort she invites listeners to join.

See the full Black Arts Legacies project, featuring profiles, photography and videos. 

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Credit

Host/producer: Brooklyn Jamerson-Flowers

Story editor: Sara Bernard

Executive producer: Mark Baumgarten

Audio support: Jonah Cohen