During Black History Month, hear how lessons from our past are informing our present from two individuals who’ve devoted their lives to racial justice.
The Anti-Racism Task Force at Madrona Grace Presbyterian Church invites anyone who is feeling helpless in the face of our country’s new administration to view the ongoing fight for racial justice in Seattle through the eyes of two individuals – civil rights attorney Lembhard Howell and organizer, educator Senait Brown.
Sankofa is an African word from the Akan tribe of Ghana. It loosely translates to “Go back and get it.” Sankofa encourages learning from the past to inform the future and the Sankofa bird is looking back as it moves forward. Returning to the past enables it to better understand the present.
During Black History Month, hear how lessons from the past are informing our present. Ask questions and learn how you can become a force for change. Admission to this event is free; however, donations are welcome. Refreshments will follow the discussion.
In his long career, civil rights attorney Lem Howell took on more than 20 cases involving the questionable killings of predominantly African American men. Before cellphone videos and dash cams and the Black Lives Matter movement, Howell served as a passionate advocate for reforms in the King County inquest hearing process and changes to police procedures. He advocated for Black construction works and firefighters and helped found the Loren Miller Bar Associate to confront institutionalized racism and disparities.
Senait Brown is an organizer and educator who has devoted her career to fighting racial injustice. In addition to leadership roles in organizations and collectives, including Surge Reproductive Justice, BlackOut Washington, the city of Seattle’s Race and Social Justice Initiative, and Ending the Prison Industrial Complex, she facilitates People’s Institute Undoing Racism & Community Organizing workshops. In 2017 Seattle Magazine named Brown among the city’s most influential individuals.
At Madrona Grace Presbyterian Church we specifically affirm and welcome into the full life, worship and leadership of the church those who have been and are excluded by the barriers of human creation, whether it be by race, ethnicity, national origin, socioeconomic status, language, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, ancestry, history, gender identity, geography, or legal status. There are no strangers or outcasts here, only friends. The circle is always open.
