MYNORTHWEST NEWS

Gentrification in Seattle’s Central District about more than pot shop

May 3, 2016, 4:18 PM

king county, seattle gentrification...

A view from Seattle looking over Lake Washington to the Eastside. (Joe Wolf, Flickr)

(Joe Wolf, Flickr)


It’s no secret that Seattle is changing and that change is welcome to some but controversial to others. A Seattle neighborhood is resisting that change and has set its sights on one shop as an example.

“Putting a marijuana shop next to a place that children are (present) is just not right,” Seattle hip-hop artist Draze told Seattle’s Morning News.

Related: Why this Seattle pot shop is allowed next to a teen center and church

Uncle Ike’s Pot Shop stands near the corner of Union and 23rd Avenue in Seattle’s Central District. It’s an area historically known as a home to drug deals — and as Draze notes, where black men were arrested for selling marijuana illegally.

But the issue of marijuana is only one part of the criticism, Draze said. The overall concern is the gentrification of the Central District, known as a predominately African-American community for at least the past six decades. New apartment buildings are rising as steep and fast as rents, meaning many of the locals can’t afford to live in the area their parents grew up in.

“These are the effects of gentrification,” Draze said. “When you have this, you have a cultural clash coming in with differing values, differing cultures, differing ways of thought and thinking.

“When we look at this, we are saying that this was a predominantly African-American community,” he added. “To take their unique experience with America, they are the one group of people who came to this country via slavery. It’s painful; no one likes it. Then you say they are red-lined into a neighborhood; they are forced into this neighborhood and now they are being pushed out. Planting roots and having a legacy is about passing things down.”

Draze notes that although not every person of Chinese descent lives in Seattle’s International District, they have a stake in the neighborhood as part of their culture.

“At this point, we are saying we want to have a major stake in the way it grows and continues to develop. It’s our home,” Draze said. “It’s good for the city to have a vibrant place with a community where people of African-American descent came from. This is the only place where you can look at buildings and they are named after African Americans. You can go to the Douglas Truth Library, Langston Hughes Cultural Arts Center.”

MyNorthwest News

Photo: On Monday, Mayor Bruce Harrell announced there will be 16 new preschool classrooms across Se...

Julia Dallas

Harrell’s office announces Seattle preschool slots for thousands of kids

Thousands more families will have the chance to start their children's Seattle preschool education earlier, thanks to a program launching.

3 hours ago

Digital...

Micki Gamez

How parents can help prevent children from falling victim to online sex crimes

Chances are, if your teen has a cell phone or tablet, they either know someone or they have been the victim of an online sex crime because kids as young as seven are online more than ever. My interest in this story began almost the same time last year when my daughter came home and […]

7 hours ago

Pierce County Jail...

Bill Kaczaraba

Pierce County Corrections chief at odds with the employee guild

The Corrections Bureau's Guild has issued Patti Jackson a vote of 'no confidence,' as reported by The Tacoma News Tribune.

8 hours ago

Image: A Seattle Police Department vehicle seen during the day...

Sam Campbell

Security guard stabbed, suspect barricades inside Beacon Hill apartment

SWAT officers surrounded a complex in Seattle's Beacon Hill neighborhood after police said a man stabbed a guard barricaded himself inside.

10 hours ago

seattle indecent exposure...

Frank Sumrall

Seattle man arrested for 14 counts of indecent exposure, most near schools

A 34-year-old man was arrested by Seattle police (SPD) in connection to 14 counts of indecent exposure near Lake Forest Park.

10 hours ago

Federal Way shootings...

Bill Kaczaraba

Federal Way Police say two shootings are related

Police believe two shootings in Federal Way are related.

12 hours ago

Gentrification in Seattle’s Central District about more than pot shop