Opinion: Redistricting Happens Once A Decade — Let’s Increase BIPOC Representation
57th Anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington BLACK LIVES MATTER Window Murals by Leila Spolter and Melissa Carter at The Studio Theatre at 1501 14th Street, NW, Washington DC on Tuesday afternoon, 8 September 2020. Photo attributed to Elvert Barnes Photography and used under a Creative Commons 2.0 license (CC BY-SA 2.0).
If you have lived in King County for more than ten years, you wouldn’t need the 2020 U.S. Census data to notice the radical shift of demographics in Seattle. As the city’s population drastically grew over the past two decades, many low-income BIPOC families were displaced due to gentrification. I experienced this phenomenon firsthand in 2010, when my family was pushed from the Central District to South Seattle. Now much of my extended family lives outside of Seattle altogether. I am one of many Seattleites who takes hardcore pride in my city — but seeing my loved ones suffer from gentrification made me question if the Emerald City was as progressive as it claims to be.
Like many other families, we have encountered unforeseen issues with housing and job security…
