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We Celebrated Ten Years of Climate and Environmental Justice

Connecting with the Work, Connecting with Each Other

Front and Centered (FC) coalition members came from all over Washington State to convene at the Labour Temple in Seattle for two days of collaboration, joy, and connection on October 20 and 21.

Tables were adorned with food and flowers freshly picked by the Black Farmers Collective hours before the summit started. On Day 2, participants received dried deer meat as well from Khimstonik. Our community leaders were provided a space for free massages, a healing room, and Play-Doh to sculpt with for fidgety fingers. Dance performances were enjoyed, art therapy was done, and stories were shared.

In short, it was an eventful two days!

Oct. 20, 2025 — Ken Workman, member of the Duwamish Tribe, the first people of Seattle, and the fifth generation great-grandson of Chief Seattle, went far beyond a mere land acknowledgment by instead welcoming us all onto the land.
Why We Do It

Connecting our coalition members to each other and with the FC staff is how we maintain strength and solidarity statewide. Now more than ever, we need to root down in our community to reinvigorate the important advocacy work we do for our people and our planet.

This year was my first time ever attending a Front and Centered summit. My first impression was what a beautiful space FC picked to hold this milestone event. The Labour Temple is the location of FC headquarters, a historic space that became a city landmark in 2008 because it served as a downtown meeting location for unions for nearly eighty years! Although renovated recently, it still retains its Art Deco look and brick design. I spent some time admiring the grounded yet stylish vibe it created for this community gathering.

I found out later that this location was somewhat of a spontaneous pivot from the original planned site. The reason for the pivot? Well, anyone can rent a stale, beige conference room and have an event there, but that’s not Front and Centered. The FC team wanted to give their people the full experience with the right vibe—lots of good food, large windows, plush interiors, and plants and water features in the courtyard. I’m delighted they decided to do it here instead.

As you walk into the building through a giant door with vertical side panel windows, you literally push into the metallic plate on the door like it is a secret entrance through a wall… like some sort of speakeasy. Very cool detail. You are greeted by staff and welcomed into a lobby with an expansive window spanning the entire room, overlooking their courtyard of flowers, fire, and tables. Going down the stairwell to the event space, the dark coloring of the walls provides a stunning contrast brightly highlighting a labor worker emblazoned in gold, with aura lines to accentuate the power of the workers. What an image.

The little things matter: Notebooks, hand sanitizer, pens, squishies, and a basket of fresh bounty at each table for our members.

Place and space: Coming together to make space for one another and to acknowledge everything we’ve done together as a coalition.

The building level of the event itself is an open floor concept which gives a spacious, community-gathering vibe. I personally judge an event by the food they serve because, to me, the fastest way to my heart is through my stomach! As a Filipina American, I grew up with the idea that food is a love language. Like many communities of color, in Filipino culture sharing a meal with one another is a real way to nourish each other in more ways than one. I found the food to be thoughtful and plentiful with even a stocked snack cart and an array of different juices, coffee, and tea available in between meals. (By the way, I tried ALL the juices! My favorite was, surprisingly, dragonfruit.)

For the event, I was able to say hello to coalition members I’ve only met virtually before. I originally found Front and Centered when they were seeking a storytelling consultant earlier this year to cover their Transportation Justice grant program. As their storyteller, I was able to do in-depth interviews with about twenty organizations within the coalition and broadcast their community-centered carbon reduction efforts in a limited series podcast called Transit in Transition. I also worked with the FC team in partnership with the Washington State Department of Transportation to write their latest report, Gardening for Transportation Justice. It was lovely to hug them, chat a little bit, and to witness them connecting with other members during the summit.

I was lucky enough to also sit at a few tables and help with facilitation and note-taking. Getting to hear in detail what other BIPOC-led organizations are doing—their challenges and triumphs, their needs and next steps, their hopes and fears—inspired me.

During the open mic hour, I was honored to hear the stories from our youth and their thoughts about the ways they are seen or not seen in the environmental and climate justice movements. I found the documentary preview and panel with co-founders/brothers Elmer and Aaron, as well as film producer Rick, from the Seattle Black Panther party to be filled with historic lessons and insights that still hold truths for us to internalize and take action on today.

Oct. 20, 2025 — The Front and Centered coalition gets ready for a group photo in the Labour Temple courtyard. Photo by Jasmine Pulido.

“One long-time coalition member stood up and said that FC is one of the few organizations where their actions actually match their words. I felt that comment in my bones.”

I want to call particular attention to details that underline the thoughtfulness, care, and consideration that this event implemented to accommodate the different needs of our coalition members. There was an easily accessible elevator to bring you down to the event should you need it. There were tables reserved for those with limited mobility closer to the stage and within a shorter distance to the exit. There was an outside area, a lounge area with couches, and a quiet room— all areas to retreat to if you were feeling overstimulated, wanted more time to talk with a friend, or needed some fresh air. Spanish translators were present and presentations had Spanish translations on each slide. A Vietnamese translation was made available too. There were multiple screens so that anywhere you sat, you could see videos and images related to the panel you attended or an ongoing reel of FC staff and coalition members in action, testifying for bills or speaking on their expertise and/or lived experience at other events.

Visibility. There it was.

Speaking of visibility, at the end of Day 1 the Front and Centered summit opened up to the wider public for a dinner and celebration at the Paccar Pavilion, a building near the newly opened park on the Seattle waterfront. I wasn’t able to attend but based on the photos and videos that came out of the evening it was clear that everyone had an amazing time! Folks enjoyed stunning views of the autumn sun setting behind the Olympic Mountains as speakers stirred their hearts, singers and lion dancers amped up the joy, and folks danced to Janet Jackson and other musical greats as night fell.

The next day, something I found particularly poignant didn’t happen until the last few hours of this two-day summit. Guillermo, FC’s political manager, talked through FC’s next strategic plan and then opened the floor to hear from community leaders. One long-time coalition member stood up and said that FC is one of the few organizations where their actions actually match their words. I felt that comment in my bones. For the short time I’ve worked with FC, I have also found this to be true.

I can’t tell you how long I’ve been searching for an organization where true alignment is in practice, where words and actions are connected. Hearing what the coalition member said resonated with me, a sign that perhaps I finally found my place in what Martin Luther King Jr. called, “the long arc of social justice.”

Oct. 20, 2025 — From left to right: Ruby (Front and Centered) facilitates a discussion with Elmer and Aaron from the Seattle Black Panther Party Legacy Group and Rick of Nguvu Productions.

Now that I’ve had a few weeks to reflect on my experience of the summit there were two big personal takeaways:

The first takeaway is that my time in graduate school isn’t the only time for me to continue deep-diving into my education on social change, liberation, and community advocacy. I could take Elmer’s advice from the Seattle Black Panther Party and continue to “arm my mind” for the battles ahead that we as a nation will confront. I should be continually educating myself in this way, not considering post-graduate life as a time for only practice and execution of what I’ve studied. So I reopened my Substack to begin writing on what I’ve learned so far and what I’ll continue to learn moving forward. I’m hoping to distill complex information and make it as easily accessible to the community as possible. Academia can be quite gatekeep-y and I’d like to help bring down that barrier. Money shouldn’t be a barrier to having access to the truth.

The second takeaway is how big of a role communications plays for our communities of color. There is a lot of fear of what will happen to our people and the organizations that protect them in the months ahead. The stories we tell ourselves to each other right now will be huge. I want to be a voice of reassurance, compassion, and safety on one end as well as strength, courage, and perseverance on the other end. I don’t know if I ever felt my role as a communicator and connector has ever been this important. I plan to double down on my efforts to embody this voice, even when a familiar voice tells me what I do doesn’t matter. I often have to contend with that passive but suggestive whisper in my ear every now and again in order to keep writing. It’s a small voice that can sometimes minimize my work, chip away at me until I’ve pushed myself back into the margins.

At this very moment, we need to all show up and remind ourselves: “Every little moment I can show up matters.” Not to the point of compromising our own care, but to the point where we can go to bed knowing we did our best for one another each day we can. I’m reminded of how important it is for me to show up in all of this too.

I’ll be taking those gems and keeping them close to my heart. Thanks to the entire FC team for being so welcoming to me, and for all the coalition members who showed up for one another earlier this month at Labour Temple!

Oct. 20, 2025 — Front and Centered staff pose with Kurtis (Revive Center for Returning Citizens) and the Mak Fai Kung Fu lion dancers. Photo by Jack Storms.
Community Skill-sharing

A very big thank you to all of our stunning speakers, service providers, and performers who shared their expertise with us.