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Click above to hear CM Quinn’s preamble to the presentation
of the Juneteenth proclamation. You may also read it below. It sounds best if you read it out loud.
I want to acknowledge all the chaos in the world today and reflect on what Juneteenth asks of us.
Juneteenth asks us to remember. It asks us to reflect. It asks us to find joy, even when joy feels hard to reach.
It asks us to call forward the experiences, the history, and the legacy our people have carried and ask ourselves: What are we doing with freedom?
As Secretary of the Smithsonian Lonnie Bunch said, “It’s important to look back at history to understand the fragility of freedom and celebrate its progress.”
We remember how freedom was delayed, and how even after freedom came, our people had to carve out dignity, humanity, and joy in the shadows of bondage
We remember how formerly enslaved people walked into the unknown and began gardening while everything around them was still burning. They built joy in the rubble.
That joy is how we survived.
It is how we continue to show up for one another today, because love, real love, means showing up in suffering. It doesn’t avoid pain; it enters it
We honor the voices today who have kept our stories and that love alive. This proclamation is presented to three such storytellers and storykeepers.
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Delbert Richardson, whose traveling museum makes sure learners of all ages learn about our unspoken history in a manner that leads to self-restoration and community healing. |
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Gwen Allen-Carston, whose work with Kent Black Action keeps oral tradition alive, passing it hand to hand, heart to heart, generation to generation. |
And Chris B. Bennett Jr., son of Chris H. Bennett, is the CEO and Publisher of the Seattle Medium who is carrying on the legacy of being a keeper of Black stories and experiences in the region.
Chris is someone I’m proud to call a Morehouse brother. We walked the same campus and the same steps that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once walked.
And like Dr. King, Chris used his voice and built a platform for the betterment of our community
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Juneteenth is not just remembrance, it is revitalization. It’s reconnection. It’s the laughter between meetings, the dancing on cracked floors, the sunlight we let in when we refuse to give up.
Because joy is a thread back to ourselves.
As we celebrate Juneteenth, we also honor those across the African diaspora whose histories have traveled different paths, but share that same thread of resilience, creativity, and liberation.
A copy of the King County Council’s Juneteenth Proclamation
Dr. King reminded us that “out of a mountain of despair, a stone of hope” can rise.
And his wife, Coretta Scott King taught us and the community that “freedom is never really won, you earn it and win it in every generation.”
Our County’s namesake Dr. King showed us how to move forward for freedom. And Coretta Scott King reminded us of our duty to preserve, protect, and pass it on
That is the power of freedom. It lives within us. It is in our DNA. It is our inheritance.
And we pass it down, not just for ourselves, but all who share in this long, intertwined struggle
Freedom is our responsibility. Freedom is our legacy.
And we celebrate it through joy and through each other.
Juneteenth was commemorated by the King County Council
Left to Right: CM Baron, CM Quinn- Prime Sponsor, King County Executive Shannon Braddock, Gwen Allen-Carston, Executive Director of the Kent Black Action Commission, Council Chair Girmay Zahilay, CM Reagan Dunn, Chris B. Bennett Jr. CEO and Publisher of The Seattle Medium, CM Teresa Mosqueda, CM Sarah Perry, CM Pete von Reichbauer, Delbert Richardson, Founder and Curator of the American History Traveling Museum: Untold Stories, CM Rod Dembowksi
The goal of the D5 e-news is to share information about council business, upcoming community events, access to services, opportunities, and ways for us to build an even better King County.
On Friday, June 13, I attended a Crime Survivors Summit to hear from survivors of devastating crimes speak about needed changes in the response system.
Mothers spoke at the Crime Survivor Summit about losing their sons to unforeseen violence.
Governor Ferguson invited me to join his press conference calling for the protests scheduled on Saturday June 14 to be peaceful and without violence. I issued a statement calling on peaceful protesting. You can see it here.
CM Quinn was invited by Governor Bob Ferguson to a press conference calling for peaceful protests
Left to Right: King County Executive Shannon Braddock, WA Governor Bob Ferguson,
Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, CM Quinn, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell
In Seattle 70,000 people gathered and marched on Saturday June 14 under the banner “No Kings” in protest of current federal Executive orders and actions. There were no arrests and no reports of violence.
On Monday, my staff and I gathered at our district office in Kent. There, I met with South King County leaders and the CEO of Sound Transit regarding South King County transportation issues related to Sound Transit.
My staff and I then went to meet with members of the White River Buddhist Temple who had concerns about a change in a bus stop in front of the temple.
On Tuesday, I chaired the Transportation, Economy and Environment Committee (TrEE). The Committee reviewed King County Metro’s adherence to federal civil rights protections ensuring fairness in the delivery of services.
Metro General Manager Michelle Allison spoke to the committee about new wayfinding signage for transit users on Vashon Island, transit security, and regional discussions to simplify fares.
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The Committee also received a staff overview of plans for the RapidRide K line which will run between Totem Lake and Kirkland. Currently, Metro operates eight Rapid Ride lines A-H. Plans for Rapid Ride lines I (in South King County), J and K are in the works. Public comment was given about the Rapid Ride K line.
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Finally, the Committee heard an extended presentation about the 2025 Update to the Strategic Climate Action Plan (SCAP). King County’s SCAP is known to be one of the most ambitious climate action plans in the nation. |
At the afternoon council meeting, the Council presented the Juneteenth proclamation to three treasured community leaders: Delbert Richardson, founder and curator of the American history Traveling Museum: Untold Stories; Gwen Allen-Carston, Kent Black Action Commission, and Chris B. Bennett Jr., the CEO and Publisher of the Seattle Medium.
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The Council also held its second 10th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Distinguished Service Awards. The awards are presented to community leaders who embody the spirit of Martin Luther King’s question “What Are You Doing for Others?” |
The council also voted on a motion opposing federal efforts to cut Medicaid. I co-sponsored the motion which can be read here. Click here to read the press release.
On Wednesday, I attended the Local Services and Land Use Committee. We discussed changes in the calculations of school impact fees as established by the state legislature. We also received briefings on fish passage work and protection of the Duwamish River.
Midday I met with Mayor Dana Ralph from the City of Kent at Kent City Hall. We discussed ways for King County and Kent to work together.
Wednesday afternoon I attended the Regional Transit Committee where we received a briefing on plans for accommodating approximately 750,000 visitors for the 2026 FIFA World Cup games in Seattle.
Thursday I celebrated Juneteenth.
Next week, the King County Council and King County Executive head to Washington D.C. for a 3-day trip to meet with our congressional delegation. I will be bringing stories to share of how federal funding cuts are impacting people in King County. Please email me with your story! desean.quinn@kingcounty.gov
King County Councilmember, District 5
Des Moines, Kent, Normandy Park, Renton, SeaTac, Tukwila
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