Keep ROOTED in the Central District

ROOTED is an opportunity to revitalize.
ROOTED is a loving space for healing trauma.
ROOTED is a place of nurture for local Black artists and entrepreneurs.

ROOTED  is in danger of closing these recently opened doors due to the imminent sale of our current commercial space. This story has played out many times in the Central District. The building has been Black-owned for generations but the pressure of gentrification has pushed the owners to sell the property. In one crushing exchange, a family legacy will be erased and Black businesses displaced. 

There is some hope! In the past few years, we have seen Black businesses successfully return to gentrified areas. But this success come from combined efforts. Not just efforts from non-profits and local organizations, but also from the support of individual community members. Even the smallest donation can help keep ROOTED open, become a permanent part of the Central District and continue to foster positive development to counter all the displacement and erasure.

WHAT IS ROOTED? A multi-generational healing and gathering space for community-building and knowledge-sharing events with a small retail selection of holistic care products, and a gallery showcase and outdoor market for Black artists and entrepreneurs. Visit our website...

HOW YOUR DONATION WILL HELP

The funds we raise here will give us the advantage we need to maintain Black-ownership and presence in the Central District. 

Help me continue to grow ROOTED into the entity I envision: a place of connection, where we can express our culture, have sacred conversations and build up our community. 

  
MY STORY & THE STORY OF ROOTED

I have lived the experience that I want to give to others. Realizing my potential, becoming empowered and empowering others through a network of support. 

Less than two years ago I was living in a shelter at Mary’s Place with my nine children. I had left my husband and in turn he had left us with no child support and no place to live. I reached out to every resource I could and got us into permanent housing in just 30 days.

In my new place, I began to invite friends to participate in meditative sound healings. Every week, more women showed up. Friends of friends. And then friends of friends of friends. Connections were being made, community was being built, right in my living room.

Soon, through my new network of support, I was connected with Seattle Public Schools who invited me to teach storytelling during Black History Month.

I wrote a children’s book.  I learned to make resin art.  I started selling my art at fairs, markets and other events. When I had saved enough money, I rented the first-floor storefront of a building on 23rd and Spring.

I wanted the space to build community on a scale larger than I could from my living room.

Wise Women Wednesdays

I invited my women’s group to ROOTED and expanded our weekly meditations into a bi-monthly community-building art therapy workshop series for BIPOC women. We have guest speakers, a guided art therapy activity followed by a healing discussion, a meditative session and a shared meal. We recently started hosting a healing retreat for a more in-depth experience away from the pressures of daily life.



Melanated Men Mondays

Within 6 months, we started hosting a monthly support group for men. Every session includes a book club discussion, an open forum on ideas and actions to build and fortify the present and future of the community and an hour of martial arts training, yoga or other sports. 



Children's Storytime

Out of the healing discussions in Wise Women Wednesdays came the question: as we empower ourselves, how do we also raise the next generation to realize their full potential? So, a monthly children’s event came together with storytelling and knowledge-sharing for the little ones.



THERE IS STILL SO MUCH MORE TO DO...

Since it opened, ROOTED has also hosted group paint nights, an outdoor market, Friday Fish Fry and Ethiopian coffee ceremonies. But there is more healing to do, more partnerships and connections to be made, more actions to take.  Help us keep ROOTED in the Central District.


Check back soon for more details about ROOTED, ways you can help and updates on our progress!