Dozens of residents and nonprofit leaders told the Seattle City Councils select budget committee on Oct. 28 that the city should fund Councilmember Joy Hollingsworths amendments aimed at preserving Black neighborhoods, supporting Black-led service providers and businesses, and studying reparative responses to past discrimination.

The public comment period, which the committee set to 45 seconds per speaker because of turnout, was dominated by testimony from the Central District and South Seattle. Speakers included Lalitha Williams, who identified herself as "an African American woman born and bred in the Central District of Seattle," and Jim Buchanan, identified in testimony as president of Washington State Descendants of the Enslaved. They and others urged the council to fund measures they described as repair rather than charity.

Why it matters: The amendments would direct city funding and planning attention toward neighborhoods and institutions that speakers said lost housing, wealth and cultural resources to redlining and rapid gentrification. Supporters argued the proposals would sustain nonprofits, keep families housed and preserve historic buildings and programs.

What speakers said: "Please vote yes to fully support these amendments," Langston executive director Ebony Arunga told the committee, citing decades of disinvestment, redlining and the need to restore family wealth. Laurie Goff, introduced herself as "a member of the Black community of Seattle," and told councilmembers, "We need reparations. Seattle, it was redlined. M O N E Y." Elmer Dixon, a longtime community activist, framed the ask as an urgent effort to reverse ground lost by Black residents.

Scope and specifics raised during testimony included a request to expand preservation funding for historic Black-owned properties, create inventories of culturally significant buildings, boost support for Black-led nonprofits that provide wraparound services and increase funding targeted to Black youth and Black business owners. Several speakers also asked the council to ensure their requests were ongoing investments rather than one-time grants.

What council considered at the meeting: Committee staff read multiple council budget actions and statements of legislative intent in support of these goals, including a finance general request to create or expand preservation funding for Central District sites and a proviso to expand an Office for Civil Rights study on reparations (OCR 10 a 1). Councilmembers asked staff to clarify how proposals would be implemented and whether funding would be one-time or ongoing.

Context: Public commenters repeatedly said the measures are a response to historical harms, not charity. Several speakers referenced King County research estimating multibillion-dollar wealth loss from discriminatory housing policies and framed the amendments as restoration and long-term community stabilization.

Next steps: The committee will continue deliberations on council amendments in subsequent sessions this week and the chair indicated the size of the councils chairs balancing package will determine which items can be funded this year.