Elisheba Johnson is a conceptual artist and co-founder of Wa Na Wari. Credit: Courtesy of Elisheba Johnson
Elisheba Johnson is a conceptual artist and co-founder of Wa Na Wari. Courtesy of Elisheba Johnson
Good morning. It’s Tuesday, June 9, and today’s message comes from the curator, administrator, and artist Elisheba Johnson.
“On February 7, 1865, the Seattle Board of Trustees passed Ordinance No. 5, calling for the removal of all indigenous people from Seattle,” she says to the city. “You have a history of racial discrimination, redlining, racial covenants, and inequality that permeates the air that we breathe.”
She adds, “I was born in this city. I was raised in this city. And I’ve seen my Black community go from 12 percent of the population to five. So today, my people, in the streets, organizing, I say: Stay strong, stay vigilant. We can change Seattle for the better.”
Elisheba has a BFA from Cornish College of the Arts and was the owner of Faire Gallery Café, a multi-use art space that held art exhibitions, music shows, poetry readings, and creative gatherings. For six years, she worked at the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture on capacity-building initiatives and racial equity in public art.
She is currently a member of the Americans for the Arts Emerging Leaders Network advisory council and has won four Americans for the Arts Public Art Year in Review Awards for her work. She currently co-manages Wa Na Wari, a Black art center in Seattle’s Central Area that uses the arts to build community and resist displacement.
If you’d like to help Wa Na Wari in that mission, give here.
Thank you, Elisheba. Thank you for the historical context, and thank you for your message of hope to everyone in this fight.
By the way, everyone in this fight? It’s working. Cutting funding to SPD—and investing it directly in communities—is suddenly a real agenda item for people in power.
That’s because of you. Because of this groundswell.
Keep it up.
* * Previously in this series:
Michael Jinsoo Lim’s message to the city on June 8.
Brandon Ivie’s message to the city on June 5.
Kimya Dawson’s message to the city on June 4.
Jennifer Nelson’s message to the city on June 3.
Erin Jorgensen’s message to the city on June 2.
Brangien Davis and Daniel Spils’s message to the city on June 1.
Timothy De Clue’s message to the city on May 29.
Elizabeth Aquino’s message to the city on May 28.
Christopher Frizzelle’s message to the city on May 27.
Elby Brosch’s message to the city on May 26.
Mila Skyy’s message to the city on May 22.
Michael Lee’s message to the city on May 21.
SassyBlack’s message to the city on May 20.
Seattle Symphony horn section’s message to the city on May 19.
Lori Goldston’s message to the city on May 18.
Ibidunni Ojikutu’s message to the city on May 15.
RL Heyer’s message to the city on May 14.
Garth Stein’s message to the city on May 13.
Okanomodé’s message to the city on May 12.
Zoe Scofield’s message to the city on May 11.
Aham Oluo’s message to the city on May 8.
Pete Rush’s message to the city on May 7.
Trent Moorman’s message to the city on May 6.
Renée Valencia’s message to the city on May 5.
Justin Huertas’s message to the city on May 4.
Charles Mudede’s message to the city on May 1.
Kathryn Rathke’s message to the city on April 30.
Anthony White’s message to the city on April 30.
Miss Texas 1988’s message to the city.
Matt Bishop’s message on April 27.
Cherdonna’s message to the city on April 26.
Shenandoah Davis’s message to the city on April 25.
Lorena González’s message to the city on April 24.
Clyde Petersen’s message to the city on April 23.
David Ritt’s message to the city on April 22.
Sara Porkalob’s message to the city on April 21.
Julia Sweeney’s message to the city on April 20.
Linda Derschang’s message to the city on April 19.
Molly Sides’s message to the city on April 18.
Nick Garrison’s message to the city on April 17.
Tomo Nakayama’s message to the city on April 16.
Rebecca M. Davis’s message to the city April 15.
Heather McHugh’s message to the city on April 14.
Brandon O’Neill’s message to the city on April 13.
Kate Wallich’s message to the city on April 12.
Rebecca Brown’s message to the city on April 11.
Lucien Postlewaite’s message to the city on April 10.
Betty Wetter’s message to the city on April 9.
Amanda Morgan’s message to the city on April 8.
Nancy Guppy’s message to the city on April 7.
Jonathan Biss’s message to the city on April 6.
Chris Jeffries’s message to the city on April 5.
Lesley Hazleton’s message to the city on April 4.
John Roderick’s message to the city on April 3.
Bill Carty’s message to the city on April 2.
Price Suddarth’s message to the city on April 1.
Kary Wayson’s message to the city on March 31.
Ellen Forney’s message to the city on March 30.
Major Scales’s message to the city on March 29.
E. J. Koh’s message to the city on March 28.
Ken Jennings’s message to the city on March 27.
Demarre McGill’s message to the city on March 26.
Lynn Shelton’s Message to the City on March 25th.
Timothy White Eagle’s message to the city on March 24.
