Africatown Innovation Center Seeks Community Support After Burglary, Vandalism

by Venice Buhain and Christina Twu

(This article originally appeared on The Seattle Globalist and has been reprinted with permission)

The Africatown Center for Education and Innovation is seeking volunteers and donations, after computer equipment was stolen and hate graffiti was left on the walls.

The center on South Alaska Street hosts a number of programs to train and mentor young African Americans to enter high-tech fields and businesses. Programs includeUmoja P.E.A.C.E CenterandADYA Sankofa Tutoring. The center was recognized by the city late last yearwith an honoraryHuman Rights Award.

The computers are vital to the center's youth programs, and the programs have been halted temporarily as volunteersclean up.

At a 4 p.m. Sunday community meeting held inside the center, Africatown Innovation and Education Center leaders, including its director Wyking Garrett, spoke to an overflowing classroom full of community members, TV cameras and reporters.

"When you look at the fact that the camera's only here when the police are leaving the scene while our programs with our young people are starting businesses, are coding … or going out and impacting the community, the cameras are not here in this way," Garrett told the roomamidst claps. "So that is a letdown of the community, because the questions is, 'What are we promoting?'"

After the center's leaders spoke, community members signed up to volunteer with fundraising, cleaning and programming efforts, splitting up into groups to coordinate efforts.

The group has set up a Google form for volunteers and donorswho want to help. So far, according to the Africatown Innovation Center's Facebook page, donors have given more than $11,000 and nearly 200 volunteers have signed up to help get the programs back up.

The graffiti included swastikas and slurs targeted at African Americans. Investigators arrested a center volunteer who is East African in connectionwith the graffiti and burglary, Seattle police said.

Seattle Police say the graffiti is being investigated as a biascrime, though Africatown organizers told The Seattle Times that they had not requested that the police investigate it as such.

According to Seattle Police, officershadtalked to the same volunteer several days beforethe vandalism after the center reported a possible burglary of electronics and a bad check written tothe organization. After the vandalism, the volunteer was interviewed again and arrested, police say.

Featured Photo courtesy of Africatown Innovation Center.