After many weeks of working with, learning about, and exploring the endless list of issues and injustices faced by people in Seattle, I can honestly say I was feeling a little overwhelmed. Homelessness, transportation, poverty, hunger, abuse, deportation, violence, unemployment, disability, pollution, gentrification, crime, discrimination, education. These are among the issues present on an ever-growing list of problems faced by people across the country. How can we, as visitors in Seattle, students in Durham, and citizens in the US, actually fix any of these problems? How can we right the injustices that far too many communities face? How can we actually create a society where there is justice for all? Is it even possible?
Absolutely.
But it takes time and inspiration.
For Pramila Jayapal, the founder of OneAmerica (formerly known as Hate Free Zone), the inspiration came after September 11, 2001. In the backlash against the attacks, Seattle’s Muslim, Arab, and South Asian populations faced tremendous scrutiny, discrimination, and violence. This drove Jayapal to confront these issues head-on, leading her to start her own organization. Thirteen years later, OneAmerica is still a leading force in the fight for immigrant, civil, and human rights across Washington State and the US. With base groups across the state, the staff, volunteers, and community members working with OneAmerica have fought in opposition to federal deportation regulations, pushed for greater access to education and governance by the state’s immigrant and refugee communities, and won numerous advances in the WA State Legislature.
In its inception, Northwest Harvest was established by the Ecumenical Metropolitan Ministry (EMM) in Seattle as a short-term solution to the major issue facing Seattle residents in 1967: hunger. Shortly thereafter, however, Boeing began its round of layoffs that left thousands of people without jobs and families without access to food. As a result, Northwest Harvest stepped into a new, secular role and worked with numerous organizations to start fighting hunger on a larger level. Today, the organization supplies roughly 26 million pounds of food to hundreds of food banks, schools, and meal programs across Washington State.
For organizations like Solid Ground, inspiration came to fruition in 1974 when community leaders and members from Seattle’s then most economically troubled neighborhood, Fremont, decided to address the needs of the community. Their services, such as the clothing bank, employment program, and emergency food bank, were formed by a community committed to addressing some of Fremont’s most critical needs. Fast-forward forty years, and Solid Ground has grown in reach and service in a response to the prevalence of poverty and homelessness in Seattle. They now provide more than 30 different services to reach at least 55,000 households a year, giving these individuals the tools they need to get out of poverty and create a healthy, successful future.
Operating since 1967, Washington Environmental Council works tirelessly to address Washington’s most important environmental challenges. As the longest-operating environmental organization on the state level, WEC has a long history of dedication and is constantly pushing on towards newer, better conservation solutions. In their decades of operation, WEC has fought for policies and practices that have protected places across the state, from the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Tiger Mountain State Forest to Skagit Valley and Klickitat County.
Seattle’s plethora of social, environmental, and economic justice-based organizations illustrate that inspiration comes from all around our society. In each of their histories, these organizations have faced endless obstacles and tribulations alongside their victories. In addition, they each highlight the reality that change cannot and will not happen overnight. Most often, it takes decades to create any lasting change. So what is it that actually makes this change happen?
People.
My time at Duke has opened my eyes to the potential of all people to change their community, their country, and their world. The past eight weeks have been no exception, as my work at OneAmerica has centered on organizing people in various communities to speak out for change. Therefore, I understand the importance, power, and potential of the individuals that surround me. As Americans, we live in a country where the basis of our government and society starts with the phrase “We the People.” The Constitution provides a framework for an America in which the people “establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.” It tells us that we have countless rights: to vote, to speak freely, to due process. It dictates the powers and bounds of our federal and state governments and that those elected into office must answer to the people they represent. Unfortunately, the 21st century shows us each day that our country has not lived up to the guidelines put forth in the Constitution: states are establishing voter identification laws that will limit the power of certain populations to vote in elections, domestic tranquility is an unrealistic ideal in many communities where youth are being killed by law enforcement, and our current Congress has been named as one of the least effective and most corrupt in our nation’s history.
There is no better day than today for people to speak up and use the voice that the Constitution grants us. Inspiration surrounds us constantly, and time will not wait for us. For me, I find my inspiration in the youth groups that visit my office to talk about immigrant and refugee issues. These young leaders are at a point in their lives where we can either shut them down, casting them into roles that perpetuate poverty, illness, and crime, or we can push them to confront injustice head-on. We can instill in them the importance of voting and action in our democracy, we can give them the tools to reach the highest levels of education and knowledge, and we can prepare them for a lifetime of civic and political engagement that will spark change on all levels. These are the people that will be leading us one day, and I find their dedication and yearning for change truly inspiring. I am inspired to vote in any and every election I can. I am inspired to spread the word about the issues that are crippling the US economically and socially. I am inspired to spend my life working towards a better future for myself, for my country, for all.
So over the next three days, I will pack my things and board a flight back to New York. I’ll say goodbye to my fellow DukeEngagers, my supervisor, and my friends at work. I’ll get home and hug my family, telling story after story about Seattle and the things I did here. I will fall back into the groove of my day to day life at home. But my DukeEngage experience and my work will not be over; in reality, I don’t think it will ever really end. For me it’s been all about time, inspiration, and people, and of those three things we will never run out.
“The only way to predict the future is to have power to shape the future.”
- Eric Hoffer
Zelie Lewis
Duke Student '16
Absolutely.
But it takes time and inspiration.
For Pramila Jayapal, the founder of OneAmerica (formerly known as Hate Free Zone), the inspiration came after September 11, 2001. In the backlash against the attacks, Seattle’s Muslim, Arab, and South Asian populations faced tremendous scrutiny, discrimination, and violence. This drove Jayapal to confront these issues head-on, leading her to start her own organization. Thirteen years later, OneAmerica is still a leading force in the fight for immigrant, civil, and human rights across Washington State and the US. With base groups across the state, the staff, volunteers, and community members working with OneAmerica have fought in opposition to federal deportation regulations, pushed for greater access to education and governance by the state’s immigrant and refugee communities, and won numerous advances in the WA State Legislature.
In its inception, Northwest Harvest was established by the Ecumenical Metropolitan Ministry (EMM) in Seattle as a short-term solution to the major issue facing Seattle residents in 1967: hunger. Shortly thereafter, however, Boeing began its round of layoffs that left thousands of people without jobs and families without access to food. As a result, Northwest Harvest stepped into a new, secular role and worked with numerous organizations to start fighting hunger on a larger level. Today, the organization supplies roughly 26 million pounds of food to hundreds of food banks, schools, and meal programs across Washington State.
For organizations like Solid Ground, inspiration came to fruition in 1974 when community leaders and members from Seattle’s then most economically troubled neighborhood, Fremont, decided to address the needs of the community. Their services, such as the clothing bank, employment program, and emergency food bank, were formed by a community committed to addressing some of Fremont’s most critical needs. Fast-forward forty years, and Solid Ground has grown in reach and service in a response to the prevalence of poverty and homelessness in Seattle. They now provide more than 30 different services to reach at least 55,000 households a year, giving these individuals the tools they need to get out of poverty and create a healthy, successful future.
Operating since 1967, Washington Environmental Council works tirelessly to address Washington’s most important environmental challenges. As the longest-operating environmental organization on the state level, WEC has a long history of dedication and is constantly pushing on towards newer, better conservation solutions. In their decades of operation, WEC has fought for policies and practices that have protected places across the state, from the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Tiger Mountain State Forest to Skagit Valley and Klickitat County.
Seattle’s plethora of social, environmental, and economic justice-based organizations illustrate that inspiration comes from all around our society. In each of their histories, these organizations have faced endless obstacles and tribulations alongside their victories. In addition, they each highlight the reality that change cannot and will not happen overnight. Most often, it takes decades to create any lasting change. So what is it that actually makes this change happen?
People.
My time at Duke has opened my eyes to the potential of all people to change their community, their country, and their world. The past eight weeks have been no exception, as my work at OneAmerica has centered on organizing people in various communities to speak out for change. Therefore, I understand the importance, power, and potential of the individuals that surround me. As Americans, we live in a country where the basis of our government and society starts with the phrase “We the People.” The Constitution provides a framework for an America in which the people “establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.” It tells us that we have countless rights: to vote, to speak freely, to due process. It dictates the powers and bounds of our federal and state governments and that those elected into office must answer to the people they represent. Unfortunately, the 21st century shows us each day that our country has not lived up to the guidelines put forth in the Constitution: states are establishing voter identification laws that will limit the power of certain populations to vote in elections, domestic tranquility is an unrealistic ideal in many communities where youth are being killed by law enforcement, and our current Congress has been named as one of the least effective and most corrupt in our nation’s history.
There is no better day than today for people to speak up and use the voice that the Constitution grants us. Inspiration surrounds us constantly, and time will not wait for us. For me, I find my inspiration in the youth groups that visit my office to talk about immigrant and refugee issues. These young leaders are at a point in their lives where we can either shut them down, casting them into roles that perpetuate poverty, illness, and crime, or we can push them to confront injustice head-on. We can instill in them the importance of voting and action in our democracy, we can give them the tools to reach the highest levels of education and knowledge, and we can prepare them for a lifetime of civic and political engagement that will spark change on all levels. These are the people that will be leading us one day, and I find their dedication and yearning for change truly inspiring. I am inspired to vote in any and every election I can. I am inspired to spread the word about the issues that are crippling the US economically and socially. I am inspired to spend my life working towards a better future for myself, for my country, for all.
So over the next three days, I will pack my things and board a flight back to New York. I’ll say goodbye to my fellow DukeEngagers, my supervisor, and my friends at work. I’ll get home and hug my family, telling story after story about Seattle and the things I did here. I will fall back into the groove of my day to day life at home. But my DukeEngage experience and my work will not be over; in reality, I don’t think it will ever really end. For me it’s been all about time, inspiration, and people, and of those three things we will never run out.
“The only way to predict the future is to have power to shape the future.”
- Eric Hoffer
Zelie Lewis
Duke Student '16