Transforming Intergenerational Pain into Inspiration and Strength
Sankofa Impact: Autherine Lucy
In 1956, Autherine Lucy, a Black student was expelled from University of Alabama within the first three days of starting a master’s program in Education. Lucy had enrolled at the school just after the Supreme Court case, Brown vs Board of Education deemed segregation of public schools illegal. It wasn’t until 1988 that Lucy’s expulsion was annulled and she re-enrolled in the same program. She graduated in 1992.
KBCS’s Ruthie Bly brings you this story about Autherine Lucy’s commitment to pursue her master’s degree. This story is produced in partnership with Sankofa Impact. Sankofa Impact is a non-profit organization which hosts events and trips to engage community in informative and transformational discussion around the Black freedom struggle.
Children’s Film Festival Seattle

NW African American Museum’s African American Cultural Experience Choir
The Northwest African American Museum (NAAM) is possibly the only museum in the country to house a choir. NAAM was closed for renovation until January, 2023. During the pandemic, the African American Cultural Experience choir became the mobile arm of the museum. The choral group shares Black/US history with the community through music that expresses the Black experience.
Listen in on this excerpt of a KBCS interview with NAAM President and CEO, LaNesha DeBardelaben about the significance of this choir.
Producer: Yuko Kodama Special thanks to Jalisa Bass for contributing to editing
Photo: NAAM
Music Clips: NAAM ACE Choir and KNKX
In a Dense City Landscape, Can Trees and Development Coexist?
Supporting Families Through the Pandemic
Gerald Donaldson is a Family Support Worker at Leschi Elementary School in the Seattle Public School System. He assists families who need help, so the children at Leschi can thrive in school.
Donaldson describes the challenges through the pandemic (from our interview with him last spring), and gives a more recent update of where many of his families are in their support needs now.
Black Families Navigating the School System
Emijah Smith assists Black families in the region navigating the school systems. Smith shares her own experiences in advocating for her loved ones and what led her on this path. (more…)
Seattle Street Responses to the Derek Chauvin Trial Verdict
Seattle City Council Public Safety Committee Meeting
The Seattle City Council Public Safety Committee will hold a discussion on the police chemical weapons ban today (January 12, 2021) at 9:30 this morning.
Sign Up for public comment starts at 7:30 am and is open until public comments ends.
This would be the first discussion about the police use of tear gas, blast balls, chemical weapons and other crowd control weapons used against Black Lives Matter protests.
Ron Chew: My Unforgotten Seattle
Ron Chew is a local Journalist, Author and the Executive Director for International Community Health Services. He reflects on decades of recording the stories of the people in Seattle’s Chinatown International District in his new book, My Unforgotten Seattle. (more…)