Placemaking
+ Street Signs
One of our organizational pillars includes strengthening physical identity and sense of place to preserve the African American legacy, especially given the complexities and evolution of the Central Area, through HCAACD Placemaking efforts.
We’ve partnered with community liaisons at Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) and Seattle Office of Economic Development (OED) to roll out a series of cultural identifiers along the 23rd Avenue and Martin Luther King, Jr Way corridors.
Ernestine Anderson Way
In 2016 HCAACD and the Mayor’s office collaborated with SDOT to install honorary street name signs for Ernestine Anderson along S Jackson St between 20th Ave South and 23rd Ave South. Ernestine Anderson was a legendary American jazz and blues singer who grew up in the Central District. The honorary signs were installed adjacent to Ernestine Anderson Place, a housing community built in 2012 serving houseless and low-income seniors.
SDOT Blog: Local Jazz Legend Honored with Street Name Signs in the Central District
Douglas Q. Barnett Street
In partnership with Kibibi Monie and Nu Black Arts West, on September 21, 2020, the Seattle City Council approved an honorary street name that pays tribute to a Seattle advocate for theater arts, founder of Black Arts/West, and public historian Douglas Q. Barnett. Douglas Q. Barnett Street is at 34th to 35th Avenues on E Union, the historic site of Black Arts/West Theater.
Seattle Times: Seattle street named for Black theater pioneer
RBG Crosswalks
“The crosswalks are an opportunity for all of us to have the conversation about this community’s history and the decisions that changed its course.”
The original RGB crosswalks in the Central District were created in 2015 by community activists from the United Hood Movement and Africatown, who painted four crosswalks in the neighborhood the colors of the Pan-African Flag: red representing the bloodshed, black representing the people, and green representing the land.
The efforts of these community activists led to partnerships with HCAACD and other community members and groups to establish City-sanctioned crosswalk installations throughout the CD.
South Seattle Emerald: The Long Path to a "Red, Black and Green" Central District
