A customer walks into Cafe Rozella and before I have chance to say anything he blurts out, “so, how many times have you been robbed?”  I stuttered, “What?”  He replied, “This is such a dangerous neighborhood, you must be robbed all the time.”  I got his order and looked him over:  silk pants, expensive sport shirt, Italian loafers — looked like a salesman.  “None,” I replied.

Ruminating for a minute, I said, “actually this is a very safe neighborhood.  Crime statistics show this is much safer than most other urban Seattle neighborhoods.”  Yeah, but you have so many creeps around here… blah, blah, blah… he stammered on.

“Where do you live?” I asked him.  “White Center,” he said with a laugh.  When he saw that I wasn’t in on his joke, he mentioned the very same neighborhood that I live in.   Now, I could clue this fool in, but I knew that he had a bagful of prejudices and preconceptions that no amount of small conversation would alter.

I thought about all the Rozella regulars who make this their second home:  tradespeople, programmers, biotech scientists, teachers, counselors, government workers, students, writers and artists.  Does this guy have a clue about the richness and diversity in this community?  I’ll admit that, as with any urban neighborhood, there are a fair number of street alcoholics who wander around like extras in the Blade-Runner movie.  But what of all the families walking to buy groceries at the Asian and Latin American markets?  Are they invisible?  Only to those too blind to see.

My dad was a mechanic and hence I relate well to people who do the complex jobs known as the trades.  God has a special place for the grace of those who work with their hands.  I love these people and they represent the best of our community.  And what of the artists who struggle to fulfill a vision — that takes courage.

All this went through my mind from that small exchange.  And the guy didn’t even leave a tip.

A group of very charming young people just came by the Cafe.  Their English was halting so I spoke to them in Spanish, to which they were thrilled.  They also loved our poetry wall with its emphasis on Pablo Neruda.  Turns out they are dancers from Argentina and are here to perform traditional Tango.  (As readers may know the Tango originated in Argentina.)  They will be performing in late September.   Please check here for more details.

Most people are not aware that we sit near a small store-front mosque.  Everyday, you can see Muslims from the Horn of Africa make their way to the mosque for prayers.  They are a very handsome people and carry themselves with regal bearing.  I find it fascinating that they have travelled so very far away to wind up in chilly Seattle (the Switzerland of America).  I am still waiting for the day, soon to arrive, when we can enjoy fresh falafel sandwiches in White Center.

If White Center is any indication, Seattle continues to be a draw for people from other parts of the country — especially the midwest.  The greatest number come from Michigan followed by the Chicago area and Minnesota.  Then there’s the couple from the Yukon (I know that’s Canada).

Just finalized plans for an exhibition and sale of Oaxacan rugs.  The rugs are made by a women’s collective in Oaxaca, Mexico.  Oaxaca is heavily indigenous and the rugs will bring that imprimatur.  We will likely have music to go along with the exhibition.  That should happen on September 24th of 25th.   Click here for more details.

Charanga Danzon will provide the music this Friday at the Cafe.  Charanga Danzon plays traditional Cuban music and is comprised of some excellent musicians.  Should be a fun performance.

Last Friday, we showed you scenes (like the one above) from the Back-to-School Block Party on 12th SW … today, we have an update from executive director Pat Thompson at the YES Foundation of White Center, who says ALMOST A THOUSAND KIDS – 950, to be precise – got backpacks filled with school supplies, as a result! She also wants to thank World Vision and its partner Washington Mutual for generously supporting White Center kids by providing the backpacks. (First day of school – 13 days away!)

Vashon resident, author and contributor to the Crosscut.com blog, Daniel Jack Chasan, has a couple of informative posts on current developments in White Center. The first post, “Gentrifying White Center” deals generally with the issue of affordable housing and how it is being impacted by gentrification and more specifically by the Greenbridge Project. Greenbridge is housing development of mixed income community taking shape in the old Park Lake housing project site. The model for Greenbridge is the Holly Park development in the Rainier Valley. Chasan points out the paradox that bedevils the economic revitalization of previously poor areas such as White Center. In the process of providing new jobs, businesses and higher income residents the area pushes out the very people who it was designed to assist. In the process, the area loses the flavor that the refugee and immigrant community imparted to the neighborhood. As well, Chasan takes King County to task for reducing the number of affordable housing units. I am not sure that I feel quite as pessimistic about gentrification destroying the character of White Center but Chasan’s concerns are certainly valid.

The second post by Chasan, “Social Progress in White Center” deals more broadly with the various social initiatives by foundations such as the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The White Center Early Learning Initiative is nicely described. As with the first post, Chasen voices some concern for the changing character of the community. This post is a good primer for anyone wanting to understand some of the dynamics at play in White Center. Unlike the housing issue, it is hard to fault a program that invests heavily in the betterment of children. All the more so, as success would mean that the Initiative would become a model for other communities. In any event both posts are highly recommended reading.

By Kyla Woodall, New Start student

Over the course of six weeks, my classmates and I worked together to learn about the world around us. We discovered all about invasive plant life and how they affect our community. We broadened our minds in learning about new ways to help our environment by composting, recycling, and picking up the garbage that litters the streets. Even during the summer Samantha Rost came up to Ann Magyar (a teacher at New Start) and said “You know I am almost annoyed with you because now that I learned about native and invasive plants I really see them everywhere”, It was an engaging experience that helped us to develop an interest for improving our community. I feel that by attending this program, we have become more aware of our surroundings and how we make an impact on our global community and the future for our children and our children’s children.

This all started when Mark Farrell, a King County Education Employment Specialist and New Start partner, received a grant from the King County Natural Resource Stewardship Network with funds from The King Conservation District, the Forest Service and King County. As a class, we identified the invasive plants in Salmon Creek Park and removed them. Besides removing the invasive plants, we also did a lot of our own planting in our school’s raised bed planters. Soon New Start and its neighbors will have a crop of tomatoes, bush beans, turnips, beets, and other produce. Throughout the program we worked with people whose careers focus on the environment. People who came to see our final presentation stated, “In the beginning it looked as if it would take five years to finish what you guys accomplished in 6 weeks.” I feel that we really did quality work. We did everything by hand; it was very hard but rewarding at the same time.

Also in the class, we learned about this wonderful thing called compost. Before the program many of us had no prior knowledge as to what compost was, and after completing the program, we were all motivated to have our own compost at home. It was satisfying knowing that we could help to improve our environment just by separating our garbage. We did our part by reusing plastic bottles to drink water from, and when we were down at Salmon Creek Park we looked for trash to separate and recycle.

Some of us are going to return this summer and help build the native plant nursery, to help benefit the community even more than we already have. The New Start nursery will be part of the classes, and the plants will be transplanted to Salmon Creek Park. The students are also going to be doing a composting program on the school campus.

This program has really helped to shape us as individuals, as well as team members. It was a very engaging and worthwhile course that opened our eyes to new experiences and different ways that we could help our community, in more ways that we ever thought possible.

FullTilt discussed a thought-provoking P-I article yesterday about small businesses (see his post here). Today, another one from the P-I that deserves attention – we also posted about it on WSB because White Center and West Seattle are both featured – a close-up look at gang life all around the greater metro area, north to south. The accompanying photo gallery follows a group of youths through one night at Evolucion last month.

From the Seattle Times: King County Public Health authorities have for the first time studied its Pacific Islander residents as a distinct group, and announced the results at this weekend’s festival in White Center. As the paper reported, some of the findings are “grim,” but community advocates hope the study will be a tool to help them move forward with education and prevention.

George White, the eponymous co-founder of White Center, could not have known that, in so founding this neighborhood, he was displaying an ironic sense of humor. White Center certainly has its share of white residents but what most likely defines it, in most peoples’ minds, is its amazing diversity. There are literally people from every continent who have as their primary tounge, the language of their native land. Alongside English you will find people who speak: Vietnamese, Spanish, Tagalog, Russian, Chinese, Japanese along with a couple dozen other languages. This rich diversity of cultures is welcomed by most and disdained by some. As some long-time residents of West Seattle said to me recently, “we live in West Seattle not in spite of White Center but because of White Center.”

I myself love the infusion of life that immigrants bring to White Center. You would have to travel many, many miles in most Seattle neighborhoods to find the rich diversity of food that you will find in the few blocks that make up this wonderful neighborhood. From papayas, prickly pair apples, mangos to rambutan (chon chon), durian (sau rieng), and sapodilla, you will find fruits and vegetables literally from every corner of the world. The same goes for chicharones, goat meat, brain tacos to Ca cuon fish rolls, Chao tome prawn paste, and mam salted catfish, snakehead and mackerels along with the necessary condiments, you will find them all in White Center. So next time your Greenwood friends start ragging on White Center, invite them over to an international dinner befitting a world traveler.

I just wanted to write a quick introduction and welcome folks to this new blog.  I am the co-owner of Full Tilt Ice Cream, in the heart of White Center. The store has only been open a little over a month, but I have been in the area for a little over four years now. I wanted to start this blog to share with people the stories of White Center and the people in it. This little neighborhood is to often over looked. The only glimpses many people get are of crimes that happen to make the news. No one seemed to be reporting about the artists, activists, writers, poets, and small business owners that make White Center a vibrant and lively community.

There are going to be a few other people working on this with me. I will let them speak for themselves.