TWO ARRESTED IN SEATTLE AS MEMBERS OF HIP-HOP OCCUPIES AND OCCUPY SEATTLE JOIN YOUTH ADVOCATES TO OBTAIN SPACE IN CLOSED PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDING

TWO ARRESTED IN SEATTLE AS MEMBERS OF HIP-HOP OCCUPIES AND OCCUPY SEATTLE JOIN YOUTH ADVOCATES TO OBTAIN SPACE IN CLOSED PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDING

BlackSeattleNews.com – On Friday Nov. 11th representatives of the United 4 Youth Coalition joined by members of the Occupy Seattleand Hip Hop Occupies attended a community meeting to address the use of Horace Mann school building in Central Seattle.Two people were arrested as youth and advocates repeatedly challenged the wasting of resources and the refusal of the group to recognize their grievances and positive input.Seattle Hip Hop artist and lifelong Central District resident J-Infinite was arrested along with veteran human rights advocate and founder of the African American Heritage Museum at Colman school, Omari Tahir-Garrett.  Both are lifetime residents of the neighborhood which is historically the center of Black life in the Pacific Northwest.
“I came to talk with the leaders of this program about what needs to be done to better use this community space and they had me arrested…they are not working it out for the youth and I’m tired of do nothing programs getting resources in the name of the youth” stated J-Infinite after being released from the King County Jail.“They need to listen to us, we are the young people they say are trying to help…they need to share the space, plain and simple…we have the youth and the progrrams, let’s really work it out.” J-Infinite added.
The program in question, Work It Out, is a project sponsored by Peoples Institutional Baptist Church. The program received a $100,000 grant from the city of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods among other funds to pilot a program at the building.According to reports from project staff, there are currently three students enrolled in the Work It Out program. Still, they refuse to allow groups affiliated with the United For Youth Coalition such as the UmojaFest P.E.A.CE. Center to bring in effective programming and more community engagement to activate the space.The United for Youth Coalition has launched a “More 4 Mann!…Mann 4 More!” campaign to create a dynamic and vibrant community center that engages youth and effectively addresses pressing community issues including educational enrichment, cultural development, jobs for young people, public safety and community economic development.The proposed use includes a communiversity, music recording studio and multimedia center, fitness and boxing gym, visual art and fashion design studio and a microenterprise incubator.

“We want to address the issues of our community and we think that University Heights, Phinney Ridge Center, El Centro De LaRaza and Youngstown Cultural Arts Center provide some good models for maximizing the use of the Mann building…We need more for Mann and Mann for more!” stated K. Wyking Garrett, Founding Director of the UmojaFest P.E.A.C.E. Center.

They are also seeking proposals from other groups for innovative ways to activate the space.  Members of the Occupy Seattle and Hip-Hop Occupies movements joined in solidarity as the space provides a viable option for the Occupy cause to have a central hub of education and organizing the next phase of the growing movement for positive change. The issue will be a key issue raised at the upcoming “Rise & Decolonize” concert and rally produced by Hip-Hop Occupies, to be held on November 18th at Westlake Center.

About the United 4 Youth Coalition

United For Youth Coalition is a growing coalition of community based organizations, businesses and individuals committed to creating safer communities by recognizing and engaging youth as assets rather than liabilities.  Our mission is to reduce and eliminate youth violence through full employment of youth in culturally relevant personal and community development activities. Our long term goal is the development of a world class cultural center featuring recording studio, film and video program, fashion design center, early childhood development center, performance hall, technology, arts and small business incubator; programs that will bring our youth in from the streets to learn and develop their potential.  For more information visit http://www.unite4youth.com.

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