Feeding the Soul: Hiba Jameel trained to be a nutritionist but painting sated her

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One hundred years ago, Seattle workers ran the city themselves

by Whitney Kahn | February 13th, 2019

COMMENTARY

On a chilly day some 100 years ago, 35,000 Seattle dock workers walked out in an action that would lead to the first general strike (a strike of all workers in an area) anywhere in the United States.

Inspired by the Russian revolution and a wave of post-war rebellions around the world, workers across Seattle would completely shut down the city for five days in February of 1919 in solidarity with the dockworkers. It was more than a protest. Over five days, working people in Seattle ran the city democratically based on human needs, rather than for profit.

Vendor Week: Learning the art of the deal

by Brett Hamil | February 13th, 2019

Comedian Brett Hamil shares his experience selling Real Change with Art Ermeloff

On February 6, I participated in my second Real Change Day of Heroes, in which community members are paired with a vendor-mentor to sell papers in the streets of downtown Seattle.

My vendor-mentor was the soft-spoken Art Ermeloff, with kind eyes and a bushy salt-and-pepper mustache. Last year it was Steve, a tall, affable man who pitched his papers to passersby in a booming voice.

Vendor Week: Smile, wave, make eye contact

by Hanna Brooks Olsen | February 13th, 2019

Columnist Hanna Brooks Olsen shares her experience selling Real Change with Yemane Berhe

There were still little clumps of snow around downtown and I found myself marveling at the fact that everyone in Seattle seemed to have acquired an ankle-length down coat in the last 48 hours.

I tried out a few lines, brandishing Real Change papers to people headed to lunch.

“You look dapper today, sir! Buy a paper?”

“That’s a very fetching hat, ma’am! Interest you in a paper?”

None of it worked. One after another, pedestrians shooed me away without a glance. Some mustered a weak smile. It was jarring to be so thoroughly ignored by my fellow human beings.

Director's Corner: Selling the paper is often harder than it looks

by Tim Harris | February 13th, 2019

Last week, I joined some of Real Change’s better known friends for the Real Change Day of Heroes, where local celebrities paired up with vendors for two hours to sell our paper and bring attention to the hard working people who do this every day.

The Day of Heroes also highlights the International Network of Street Papers, the global organization of more than one hundred papers like Real Change across 35 countries. During #VendorWeek, papers all over the world participate in the event.

What you need to know about the storm and how it’s affecting people experiencing homelessness in Seattle

by Ashley Archibald | February 13th, 2019

How big is this storm?
Big. The storm is expected to impact all of western Washington, dumping an average of 4 to 6 inches of snow in the Seattle area, with winds up to 45 miles per hour. Temperatures are at or below freezing and could drop further. “We’re not even seeing the coldest air,” Kirby Cook, a meteorologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told Real Change.

Book Review: ‘Homo Deus, A Brief History of Tomorrow’

by Joe Martin | February 13th, 2019

Will techno-humanism be our eventual savior?

Is the geologic epoch of our time — the Anthropocene — the stage for another sweeping biological extinction or will it be an exhilarating prelude to an era during which evolving science and technology bestow upon humankind an astonishing beneficence of progress, peace and prosperity?

Vendor Shawn Wilson credits Real Change for his personal growth

by Bridget Mountain | February 13th, 2019

Shawn Wilson is one of those people who you can’t help but smile around. Wilson oozes a charisma that is contagious. Even battling through pain, Wilson never lets it show while selling at Crown Hill Safeway. “With what our city is going through with our homeless crisis, it is way more important for me to be selling and bringing awareness to this population — instead of me focusing on my pay,” Wilson said.

We're still here: Art exhibit shows creativity flourishes in those living with dementia

by Lisa Edge | February 6th, 2019

When dementia and all its various forms are discussed, it is often enveloped in a tone of sadness and a sense of longing for what used to be. Memory loss can be challenging for those who are grappling with it as well as for their loved ones. Marilyn Raichle understands this struggle quite well. Her mother, Jean, lived with Alzheimer’s for 16 years before passing away in 2015. To keep her active, Raichle took Jean to a class hosted by Elderwise, a nonprofit organization offering enrichment programs for people with memory loss.

Being Jewish when hate, once again, runs amok

by Ashley Archibald | February 6th, 2019

New York Times’ Washington editor’s book chronicles the global rise of anti-Semitism

“I can’t sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics, I’m going in.”

According to authorities and the 63 indictments he faces, Robert Bowers — a 46-year-old White man with a history of racist, anti-Semitic online comments — posted these words on the message board site Gab before entering the Tree of Life Synagogue armed with two handguns and a rifle and murdering 11 people.

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The Middle Ground by Sam Day 1/16/19

by Sam Day | January 16th, 2019

Contact Sam Day at sam@samday.com
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Everything that happens does so according to a plan written in cursive on a rock on Pluto

by Dr. Wes Browning | January 16th, 2019

Real Change columnist

I can’t remember the last time I had a deep thought.

It’s hard to have a deep thought when everything that’s wrong with the world is just so blatantly obvious.
Let’s see. We have federal workers working without pay. We also have a constitutional amendment that says, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” What crimes did all those workers get convicted of?
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What do you do? What do you say?

by Pamela Bradburn | January 16th, 2019

Pamela Bradburn shares how volunteering at Real Change helped her through an uncomfortable situation

Heading back to our room early in the morning on a sweltering New York City subway car. A young man enters, announcing in a loud voice, “My name is Jim. I’m asking for any leftover food you have. My wife and our son, Danny…. His birthday is coming…. We’re not homeless,” he hastens to add, “but I don’t have a job.” Every finger clutches white plastic bags of other peoples’ unfinished dinners.

What do I do?

I stand up, take out my wallet, which has more cash than usual because we’re traveling. I begin to pull out a 10-dollar bill. “No,” I say and hand him a 20 instead.
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Rampant Radicals: Gina Owens, member of Washington CAN

by Ainsley Meyer | January 16th, 2019

Rampant Radicals is a monthly report about Seattle's change makers from the Real Change Advocacy Department

Gina Owens has been a member of Washington CAN (Community Action Network) for more than 16 years. She’s well known around City Hall, where she regularly uses her personal experience and in-depth knowledge of housing issues to give powerful testimony.
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Utopian Blackness: Artist Jeremy Bell explores the human experience

by Lisa Edge | January 16th, 2019

In the newest exhibition at Northwest African American Museum (NAAM), portraits take center stage. “Jeremy Bell: Utopian Blackness” introduces the viewer to more than a dozen Black people including “Roxanne,” “Grace” and “Rebekkah.” Roxanne’s afro perfectly frames her face. She exudes confidence as she meets the gaze of the viewer. All of the works in the show are intimate portraits. Each has a familiarity that makes it recognizable, as if they are someone we know in real life.
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Annual MLK March: A strong tradition in our community

by Abiel Woldu and... | January 9th, 2019

COMMENTARY

On April 4, 1968, a single shot changed history. The world lost the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., an organizer of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, the spokesman of the Montgomery bus boycott and the moral leader of a generation. King also left us his dream that one day we would be judged by the content of our character and not by the color of our skin.
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Womxn’s March: Building power through shared understanding and coming together

by Liz Hunter-Keller | January 9th, 2019

COMMENTARY

On the weekend of Jan. 19 – 21, we honor the third anniversary of the Womxn’s March on Seattle with a march, rally and hours of community-led programming.

As the local chapter of the Womxn’s March, every year we ask the question of what to present on Womxn’s March weekend that best honors our Unity Principles and best speaks to the needs and issues in our communities.

Among the valid critiques of the Womxn’s March movement is that it has failed to fully center the experiences and leadership of nonwhite and trans womxn.
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Reporter's Notebook: Youth homelessness plan from down under and funding for the waterfront

by Ashley Archibald | January 9th, 2019

Imported plan
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Man killed by Seattle police remembered as a devoted father

by Ashley Archibald | January 9th, 2019

This is the first use of deadly force by police in King County since the passage of I-940 in November.

In June 2017, a Kent police officer shot and killed Giovonn Joseph-McDade, 20, after a traffic stop turned into a car chase. According to the police, Joseph-McDade tried to run an officer over after getting trapped in a cul-de-sac, and the officer opened fire, killing him.

In the summer of 2018, Kiana Keni and her sister Kerina released a track on Soundcloud called “Justice for Giovonn,” a 4:43-minute song that put the police on blast, questioning the chain of events and demanding accountability.
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Feeding the Soul: Hiba Jameel trained to be a nutritionist but painting sated her

by Lisa Edge | January 9th, 2019

The role art plays in Hiba Jameel’s life goes well beyond the finished piece on the canvas. Art has helped her heal. It’s spurred conversation. It’s what she looks forward to at the start of each day. Art is a lifelong passion Jameel is able to devote more time to now that she’s pressed pause on pursuing a career as a nutritionist.

“I needed to become the artist that’s in my head,” said Jameel. “I wake up, go to sleep all I think about is paintings, art, applying to shows, creating more, getting my work out there.”
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