King County Equity Now works to achieve measurable equity outcomes for Black communities through advocacy, coalition building, systems change, and community-led solutions. Together with community partners, KCEN has helped advance hundreds of millions of dollars in public and private investments supporting Black housing, health, economic opportunity, community ownership, and self-determination.

2026 Highlights

Reparations & Public Policy

• Helped secure unprecedented commitments to reparations from members of the Seattle City Council, King County Council, the Mayor of Seattle, and the King County Executive, advancing reparations from concept to public policy priority.
• Served as a key advocate for Washington State's Reparations Study Proviso, establishing a framework for examining the impacts of slavery, segregation, redlining, displacement, and systemic discrimination and identifying pathways for repair.

Housing & Community Ownership

• Helped advance more than $80 million in reparative housing investments designed to address historic barriers to Black homeownership, housing stability, and wealth building.
• Continued supporting community-controlled development strategies that create permanently affordable housing, preserve cultural assets, and expand Black ownership opportunities.

Health & Wellness

• Celebrated the groundbreaking of the $40 million Tubman Center for Health & Freedom in Rainier Beach, expanding access to culturally responsive healthcare, behavioral health services, and community wellness resources.

Community Development

• Celebrated ten years of Africatown Community Land Trust, which has grown into one of the nation's leading models of Black-led community ownership and development.

Major Community Investments & Assets

Africatown Plaza

• Helped advocate for and support the development of Africatown Plaza, a community-centered development representing approximately $52 million in investment and including affordable housing, commercial space for Black-owned businesses, and cultural space in Seattle's Central District.

Benu Community Home

• Helped secure the acquisition and preservation of the former Keiro campus, now Benu Community Home, representing approximately $14 million in community asset preservation and providing shelter, housing navigation, workforce development, and supportive services.

William Grose Center For Cultural Innovation & Enterprise

• Supported the transfer and redevelopment of the historic Fire Station 6 property into the William Grose Center, representing approximately $8 million in community-controlled assets and investments dedicated to youth development, technology education, entrepreneurship, and cultural programming.

Youth Achievement Center

• Helped advance acquisition and redevelopment efforts for the Youth Achievement Center, creating a permanent community asset dedicated to education, workforce development, technology, innovation, and youth opportunity.