We are proud to share our video story about Byrd Barr Place, located in the Central District of Seattle. This is the first in the series of four videos that will focus on our Equitable Development Initiative (EDI) partners and Black-owned businesses in the Central District.
Formerly known as Centerstone of Seattle, Byrd Barr Place nurtures an equitable Seattle by providing programs that enable people to live healthier, prosperous lives. They offer support for home heating assistance, housing assistance, healthy food access, and personal finance education to break the cycles of poverty. Byrd Barr Place also supports community engagement and partnerships to better understand the root causes of poverty and displacement in Seattle. The organization is named after Roberta Byrd Barr, a staunch advocate in Seattle Civil Rights movement who fought against school segregation.
In 2020, Seattle City Council voted to formally transfer ownership of a former fire station to serve as a permanent home for Byrd Barr Place. Through EDI, Byrd Barr Place will renovate a 100+ year old historic Firehouse with inclusive, accessible design to add 1000+ square feet of community gathering space. The project will retain the building as a cultural asset for Seattle’s Black community and expand its services, which include energy assistance and home heating, housing assistance and eviction prevention, and food bank and home delivery.
These videos are a continuation of the series we began in May 2021 to recognize the work of our EDI partners in the Cham and Vietnamese communities. These videos seek to uplift, empower, and educate about the value of these community-led projects in a time when information on local resources can be scarce, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, displacement/gentrification, and ongoing racial oppression.
About our Filmmakers
TraeAnna Holiday, a true Seattleite, has watched her city change in many ways. From the age of nine, her deepest passion was in the creative field, which flourished at Garfield High. She took that passion to Howard University, where she studied theater management in her first year of college. Through studying abroad multiple times at the University of Washington Tacoma, gaining her degree in Communications and Urban Studies, and being displaced by gentrification, she’s now fueled to tell her neighborhood’s stories through film and education.
Producer/Interviewer: TraeAnna Holiday
Videographer: Jake Gravbrot
Audio: Curtis Delgardo
Editor: Gary Washington
About the Equitable Development Initiative
The EDI addresses displacement and the unequal distribution of opportunities to sustain a diverse Seattle. The EDI fosters community leadership and supports organizations to promote equitable access to housing, jobs, education, parks, cultural expression, healthy food and other community needs and amenities. For more information, visit the EDI website.