Community Perspectives | East African Elders Gather to Garden, Ben Santos Appointed First Filipino American King County Superior Court Judge

East African elders arrived chattering at Rainier Beach Urban Farm & Wetlands. Some walked in from the neighborhood and others bused there from as far as Bellevue and Kirkland to connect over collective time on the land and a meal. The East African Senior Center Meal Program is a twice-weekly rhythm that's continued for over 15 years. At the farm, elders have discussed topics, such as crime prevention and safety, and have learned about plants and herbs as they've tended to vegetables and trees on the farm and wetlands. They've grown kale, cauliflower, chard, and peppers. Afterward, they gathered for an East African meal in the Urban Farm's kitchen. 

Michael Negusse, who says he came to the U.S. as a refugee from Eritrea in 1984, is a former social worker and has been a community organizer, from a refugee camp in Sudan during the 1980s to southeast Seattle today. Negusse has led this program for over 15 years. His work advocating for the community began in 2008, when he lived at Yesler Terrace. He was inspired by the Asian community gardens nearby, and he organized similar activities for the East African community. 

Efram Hiile, who has been in the U.S. for 13 years, described the impact of the East African Senior Center. "Our health improved because we get the produce from here," Hiile said as the group planted seedlings. "Dining with friends and having good conversation and laughing: It really changed our lives."

Negusse says the East African community is ethnically and politically diverse. Participants in the program speak Amharic, Tigrinya, Oromo, and Somali. "Some of the countries these elders come from have been at war with each other," Negusse said. "Here is a peaceful place. We are from one region. We came here. We have the same problems, and we have to connect. Everybody comes to work together."

Ben Santos sauntered around Franklin High School with his hands in his pockets in the sunlight and grinned at the youth at the front doors during their lunch break. Santos, a southeast Seattle native and graduate of Franklin, was sworn in by Gov. Bob Ferguson as the first Filipino American King County Superior Court Judge on April 30 to a crowd of 300.

Santos recounted childhood memories of growing up in the Rainier Valley. "Back then, we ran across people's lawns and through back alleys. We knew all the shortcuts. We didn't have much, but we had our bikes, and we had our tennis shoes. My friends were such a diverse crew. I see similar groups of kids here today doing the same thing we were: trampling over flowers and throwing pine cones at each other."

Santos grew up in a South End household that's lived in the Rainier Valley for three generations. His great-grand uncle, Rudy Santos, arrived in the U.S. alone at 17 years old 90 years ago and was one of the founding members of the Filipino Community of Seattle. Rudy was instrumental in purchasing the property where the Filipino Community Center currently serves about 7,500 members a month. 

Ben Santos' maternal grandfather (pictured with Santos above) arrived in the 1960s. He had been a prisoner of war and survived the Bataan Death March. Both sets of grandparents and his parents settled in the neighborhood. Ben raises his children here too.

Ben Santos called the Rainier Valley a special place. "We all have been able to build a life with the help of community [here], and to be perfectly frank, [it's] with the help of the opportunities and laws that are in place in the U.S.," he said. "I know that we're where we are [today] because my parents were both proud union members who, for decades, were able to make a living wage because of laws that protected their rights as union workers."

Neighbors might have seen Ben Santos when he was in grade school, delivering the South District Journal for what he remembers was $2 per month per house. Then, he delivered The Seattle Times for $8.50 per month per house. In high school and college, Santos was a music DJ for many high school dances and family functions, like debuts, large and often formal 18th birthday celebrations for Filipinas. 

Santos studied communications at Washington State University, where he co-founded the Filipino American Student Association and went on to study law at American University in Washington, D.C. In the early 2000s, Santos worked as a law clerk for then-Washington Superior Court Judge Mary Yu, before she was elected as a Washington State Supreme Court Justice. Santos has been a deputy prosecuting attorney for the past 20 years. He served as assistant chief deputy in the juvenile division and has led the misdemeanor and special assault units. He has also been the domestic violence unit vice chair. 

Justice Yu recalled hearing from other judges about Santos's reputation for being skillful and talented in the courtroom, particularly with child witnesses. "It takes an extraordinary lawyer to build a level of trust with a child so they can walk into a courtroom, get on the witness stand, and speak the truth [about a very difficult experience] in front of a jury, a judge, and an audience," Justice Yu said. "Ben has the ability to be calm, gentle, thoughtful, and engender trust. This takes patience, and not just academic but social intelligence, understanding, and knowing how far a witness can [go]. That's why he excelled in the difficult units, like sexual assault and domestic violence cases to murder cases."

Santos says he's been inspired and supported by Justice Yu and local Filipino American judges, such as Leah Taguba, King County District Court Judge; Kim Walden, Tukwila Municipal Court Judge; and many others.

Santos was appointed as King County Superior Court Judge to fill the position vacated by Judge Annette Messitt, who retired in March. Santos is one of 56 King County superior court judges. He says his assignment is to handle civil cases through the end of the year. 

He notes that his transition from prosecutor to judge means he is no longer an advocate. As prosecutor, Santos' client was the people. Santos said, "As a judge, I uphold the law. I'm protecting the Constitution and everyone's constitutional rights." Judges have discretion in the form of sentencing or deciding whether someone should be and can be released. "My background reminds me that all of the decisions I make have a huge impact on real lives everyday," said Santos.

"I want people who walk into my courtroom to know that I'm just another community member," he said. "I'm a judge, but you will be treated fairly and with respect. You'll have access to justice here, because I come from where you come from."

"Lowriding is a lifestyle. You can be a lowrider before having a car. It's making the best of what you got, creating and living it with pride," said Keo Sanh, co-founder of Eazy Duz It Car Club, a group with members from South Seattle, South Park, White Center, and West Seattle. Sanh grinned, standing over his gold Impala glistening in the sun outside White Center Plaza during the Khmer New Year Street Festival. Eazy Duz It Car Club showed seven cars for the event.

Sanh's family escaped Cambodia's Khmer Rouge in the late 1970s and lived in a refugee camp in Thailand, where Sanh was born. His family arrived in Washington in 1981, and he grew up in South Park. Sanh described his relationship with Cambodia: "My generation [has] a tough time with identity. I wasn't sure if I was Cambodian or American," Sanh said. "Going back to Cambodia answered a lot of questions for me. As I get older, you realize who you are. Now, I can combine both. Classic car culture is a good representation of American culture." 

Lowrider lifestyle comes from post-World War II Chicano and Latino culture in Southern Carlifornia, where it was often a family event. Lowrider cars are customized to be lower to the ground. The idea is to cruise slowly through streets and show off your car. Sanh says hydraulic modifications were made to cars to raise them up so they could drive over speed bumps. "Fast forward to now, and it's who can raise up higher, faster," he said.

Lowriders are also known for elaborate paint jobs with cultural details. Some say lowrider culture has a history of cultural resistance to mainstream society representing Chicano and Latino pride in its origin, and today, it embraces a multitude of identities. 

Sanh says that when he first looked at lowriding in magazines, "their cars were decked out with Aztec warriors and mythology, so that attracted me. I couldn't wait till my turn." Sanh's car was airbrushed with images of Angkor Wat, a Cambodian temple; his son; creatures from Cambodian mythology, like Sovann Maccha, the golden mermaid, symbolizing prosperity; and Hanuman, the Hindu warrior monkey king holding Sanh's daughter.

Edgar Corado showed off his car, a white Chevrolet Monte Carlo with an airbrushed image on the back of his friend who passed away, along with renderings of his friends' cars. A depiction of a South Gate sign is a nod to where he came from in California. Artwork of another friend who passed and an additional airbrush portrait of Corado's wife and child are tucked in the door jambs.

Corado says lowrider culture changed his attitude about work. "At the club, we have a saying: 'Failure is not an option.' So we put 100% of our effort into whatever we do. It's a confidence boost to know I've built a car with my friends, so I know I can get through my work," said Corado, a mechanic for King County Metro. 

"Restoring a car that is forgotten and bringing it back to beauty where it's desired: That's the attraction," said Sanh, who works as a radiology technician and owns Khlassics Auto, a lowrider shop in Kent. "This car is one in a million." 

"I want to show the world the beauty of [lowriders] through hard work," Sanh said. Club work means a car is restored by one friend specializing in engines, another specializing in paint work, another in interior work. They all barter. 

Sanh says the important part is not putting more value on one type of work over another. Sanh describes this as "an immigrant mindset, which means we can't make it without each other's help."

Eazy Duz It Car Club attends local events, like the Khmer New Year Street Festival, and car shows in L.A. and Nevada. The next large local event for them is the annual Show and Shine at Seward Park on Memorial Day.