Seattle Parks and Recreation hosted MLK Event Celebrations at Southwest Teen Life Center, Garfield Teen Life Center, Meadowbrook Teen Life Center, and South Park Community Center to honor the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. Over 260 young people engaged in film screenings and discussions, guest speakers/performers, open mics, arts and crafts, basketball tournaments, and civil rights movement-themed scavenger hunts.
At Meadowbrook Teen Life Center, young people shared their dreams to, “make it to the NBA,” “become financially independent and leave generational wealth to my children,” and “have a black woman president”.
Southwest Teen Life Center participants performed spoken word regarding MLK’s values such as justice, equality, and legacy. Blitz, the Seahawks mascot, also made a special visit to play basketball with teens!
Isiah Anderson, Recreation Program Coordinator, attended the Garfield Teen Life Center event to speak on the importance of making MLK Jr’s and young peoples’ dreams a reality. Youth also enjoyed free haircuts and braiding as an expression of community- and self-care.
South Park Community Center youth participated in a small-scale protest march led by Recreation Specialist, Amadanyo Oguara, who created energy with a drum and led the group in singing, “we shall overcome, we shall overcome, we shall overcome someday!”.
Sergeant John O’Neil with the Seattle Police Department (SPD) said, “we were happy to celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by bringing everyone together of all nationalities and ethnicities to do activities, games, and celebrate bringing everyone together.”
Thank you to our vibrant community of Black-owned vendors, partners, and volunteers who helped make our 2023 MLK Day celebrations a success:
- Nakeya Isabell, local spoken word artist
- Klip Dacio Coiffeur
- Roots, Stems, and Roses Beauty Salon
- DayoSense Catering
- Simply Soulful Café
- Passionate Sweets & Cuisine
- Seattle Seahawks Sea Gals and Blitz
- Seattle Sounders and the RAVE Foundation
Seattle Parks and Recreation looks forward to bringing the MLK march back in 2024. Stay tuned!
