King County And The Gathering Collaborative Launch $25 Million Initiative To Tackle Racism As A Public Health Crisis

By Aneesa Grant, The Seattle Medium

King County and The Gathering Collaborative are joining forces to tackle racism as a public health crisis. The two organizations have launched $25 million in grants aimed at supporting community-led organizations, non-profits, groups, and businesses that are working to dismantle systemic racism and its effects.

In 2020, King County Executive Dow Constantine and Public Health-Seattle and King County declared racism as a public health crisis and committed to addressing it by centering Black and Indigenous communities in the solution-making process. The Gathering Collaborative, a group of diverse community members, was formed in March of 2022 with the goal of determining how to equitably distribute the $25 million to advance economic and racial justice.

The grant application portal is now open, with grants available in four categories: general grants for community service providers, capacity building grants for small, grassroots community service providers, small business grants, and physical infrastructure grants. The Gathering Collaborative and King County have prioritized their investments to make significant progress in addressing the harm of racism on Black and Indigenous communities who are most negatively impacted.

“The deepest wells of harm from racism, both historically and currently, are borne by Black and Indigenous communities,” said Dr. Ben Danielson, Co-Chair of Racism is a Public Health Crisis. “These communities have had the opportunity to sculpt this grant effort, creating an approach for getting resources to those most negatively impacted by racism.”

“King County government has a responsibility to confront the truth of racism and the ongoing and historical harms that it has caused,” said Constantine. “Committing this $25 million to drive transformational change intentionally and urgently takes on the public health crisis that is racism, particularly in Black and Indigenous communities.”

The Gathering Collaborative and King County are taking a major step in addressing racism as a public health crisis and empowering Black and Indigenous communities to lead the way in finding solutions. With $25 million in grants up for grabs, the two organizations are inviting community-led organizations, non-profits, groups, and businesses to join them in their efforts to repair the harm caused by systemic racism.

For those interested in applying for the grants, you can find put more information or view the recording of an informational session held by King County on the Gathering Collaborative’s website at bit.ly/gatheringcollaborative.

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