We hereby petition the Seattle City Council to give an honorary designation of “Black Lives Matter St.” to a block of East Pine Street between 11th-12th Avenues East on Seattle’s Capitol Hill.

THE SHORT OF IT:

Capitol Hill is Seattle’s epicenter for Black Lives Matter activism, part of the largest global protest to end police brutality against Black lives. 

After many nights of protesting in which everyday people put their lives on the line to uphold this civil rights message, the community created a zone between Cal Anderson Park and the East Precinct to center work for dismantling systemic racism and making Black Lives Matter.

However, no one knows if this area will persist or what it will be called tomorrow. 

Our community’s activism needs to last because the fight is never over. In Seattle and Capitol Hill, Black lives will always matter.

 

THE LONG OF IT:

For 10 days over May-June, the blocks between Capitol Hill’s Cal Anderson Park and SPD East Precinct building were the site of tense clashes between police and civil rights protesters demanding an end to police brutality against Black people, where police and National Guard in riot gear pepper sprayed and deployed rubber bullets and used flash grenades against peaceful demonstrators --and unwitting residents-- for many nights. 

The standoff came to an end with the SPD’s departure from their East Precinct building on Monday June 8th 2020. This day marked the remaking of the site of conflict into a space of education, action and social justice. Created by the protesters and community, the goal of this space is to continue the work of demanding justice and equal treatment of Black people. 

This zone, known as CHOP (Capitol Hill Organized Protest), and formerly, CHAZ (Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone) has been regularly visited by city officials, local and international media, and recognized as a site of the anti-racist movement unfolding world-wide. Hand-painted signs have been informally installed to claim the space for the movement.      

However, no one knows if this area will persist or what it will be called in the future. 

We do know that today, our Capitol Hill community’s activism needs to last forever because the fight is never over. 

Why is this important?

With this street monument in Capitol Hill, we are establishing a permanent dedication to the fight to ensure that Black lives and livelihoods matter, are valued, and prioritized.

An honorary renaming of a street block provides a permanent name and memorial to Black people who have been murdered, and subjected to systematic racism. 

In order to maintain the momentum of the movement for as long as it takes to ensure our politicians, our world, and every person knows that Black lives will always matter, we demand this physical sign as a reminder to us all that we are forever fighting.

What your signature does

Your petition signature will be included in the formal proposal to the Seattle City Council to assign a historic designation of “Black Lives Matter Street” to the one-block stretch of East Pine street between 11th and 12th Avenues East in Capitol Hill (where the SPD East Precinct is located).

Many others have come before

The Seattle City Council has given honorary designations to many streets before: Ernestine Anderson Way in the Central District in honor of the legendary American jazz and blues singer originally from Seattle’s Central Area, Roberto Maestas Festival Way in Beacon Hill in honor of the Latinx activist and founder of Centro de la Raza, and Bill Hobson Way on Eastlake in honor of the homelessness advocate and DESC director, among many others. 

Call to action for City of Seattle

We hereby petition the Seattle City Council to give an honorary designation of “Black Lives Matter St.” to the section of East Pine Street between 11th Ave East and 12th Ave East in Capitol Hill.

Affiliation

This independent Capitol Hill resident-led petition is not affiliated with any group or political party.