YWCA program offers reminder that racism still exists

Many people believe racism is a thing of the past. Nora Karena Johnson knows that.

“They associate it with Jim Crow laws and slavery,” she said. “That’s really not a complete picture of what racism is.”

Johnson is a family advocate with YWCA Seattle-King-Snohomish, which operates a shelter and transitional housing for women and children in Lynnwood. She also is working on a master’s degree in cultural studies at UW Bothell.

Helping women attain housing is her “real job,” Johnson said. “Anti-racism work is my thing,” she added.

Johnson will take part in Friday’s Stand Against Racism program at 3:30 p.m. in the Lynnwood City Hall Council Chambers.

It’s one of two local events Friday to observe Stand Against Racism, a nationwide movement sponsored by the YWCA. An 11:30 a.m. gathering at the Snohomish County Courthouse plaza will bring together county officials, leaders of the Snohomish County Human Rights Coalition and the local NAACP, and the Communities of Color Coalition to speak about racism and diversity.

Johnson is pleased that an African-American has twice been elected to the nation’s highest office. President Barack Obama was in Snohomish County on Tuesday to see the devastation of the Oso mudslide, and to meet with victims’ families and first responders. Snohomish County Executive John Lovick, also African-American, was with Obama in Oso.

“I loved seeing that, be we’re a long way from being race-neutral,” Johnson said.

When she considers racism, Johnson thinks about entrenched social and political systems. “Even if people’s intentions might be good will to all,” Johnson said, she sees discrimination and unfairness rooted in structures that grew out of slavery and Jim Crow.

There are racial inequalities in incarceration rates, health care and education, Johnson said. “As long as structural inequalities exist, it doesn’t matter how kind your heart is. It’s painful, but it needs to be talked about,” she said.

Meg Winch is chairwoman of the Snohomish County Human Rights Coalition, an advisory group to the county executive, the County Council and other agencies. She sees racial and gender diversity as keys to the region’s economic health.

The county is obligated to be a leader in impartial hiring and contracting practices, said Winch, who will speak at Friday’s event at the courthouse plaza. The commission is talking with the Latino Civic Alliance about ways to win business leaders’ support for “fair access to both jobs and contracts,” she said.

Racism hurts any workplace, Winch said.

“We all need to take a stand against racism. This is the workforce of now and the future. The brightest and best are coming from across racial groups,” Winch said.

Luanne Kunz, the YWCA’s regional community affairs coordinator, said Stand Against Racism reminds us that racial bias still exists.

“People have a tendency to think, in this day and age, if it’s not blatant it’s not there. It is there,” Kunz said. “It’s kind of shoved underneath the rug.”

Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460; jmuhlstein@heraldnet.com.

Stand Against Racism

Stand Against Racism is a one-day observance sponsored by the YWCA to raise awareness of racism and encourage conversations about diversity. Two local programs are planned for Friday:

11:30 a.m., Everett: Includes YWCA Seattle-King-Snohomish, Snohomish County Human Services, Snohomish County Human Rights Commission, the NAACP, and the Communities of Color Coalition. Snohomish County Courthouse plaza, 3000 Rockefeller Ave.

3:30 p.m., Lynnwood: Includes Lynnwood Mayor Nicola Smith, YWCA senior regional director Mary Anne Dillon, the Lynnwood Diversity Commission and Tonya Drake of Edmonds Community College. Lynnwood City Hall, 19100 44th Ave. W.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum will welcome new CEO in June

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Everett police searching for missing child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive. The child was missing under “suspicious circumstances.”

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.