Washington Census Alliance

On Monday, several Black-led organizations announced the launch of Washington for Black Lives (W4BL), a new coalition that will aim to combat police violence in communities throughout Washington State.

Today, a group of thirty-eight Black-led organizations, and 300 individuals across the state of Washington have joined forces to launch Washington for Black Lives (W4BL), a new coalition to combat police violence in communities throughout the state.

Tribal communities in Washington are stepping up efforts to make sure they’re accurately counted in the 2020 U.S. Census. Tribes are historically the most undercounted group. The reasons range from a legacy of mistrust in government to the technicalities of how data was collected in the past, before self-reporting was an option; officials tallying based on visual evaluations often overlooked Native Americans.

Carmen Best became Seattle’s first Black female police chief on the shoulders of the community that loved her and fought for her appointment, even when she was left off the mayor’s first list of finalists.

This week, the U.S. Census Bureau announced it would end its efforts to count the number of people living in the country on Sept. 30, a month earlier than anticipated.

The Washington Census Alliance, a coalition of more than 90 Black and Brown-led community organizations across Washington state, condemned the decision—saying the rushed timeline will exacerbate the undercount of people of color, immigrants, and rural communities that have not yet completed the census online, by phone, or by mail.