Drafter
Clerk 04/17/2026
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AN ORDINANCE renaming parcel 7812801985 of Skyway Park as Black Panther Park to honor the legacy of the local Black Panther Party chapter.
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STATEMENT OF FACTS:
1. The King County department of parks and recreation purchased parcel 7812801985 on October 31, 1988. The property was acquired to increase access to green space in the Skyway area.
2. A community garden on this parcel was proposed by the community to the King County department of natural resources and parks, parks and recreation division, in 2015. The effort to develop this parcel into a community garden and gathering space has been supported and led by various community organizations since 2015, including Skyway Solutions, West Hill Community Association, Skyway Coalition, the Silent Task Force, and Nurturing Roots.
3. In 2018, Skyway Solutions worked with the King Conservation District and Stone Soup Gardens to develop a design for the parcel, with funding from the King County department of natural resources and parks community partnerships and grants program.
4. Skyway Solutions intended to begin construction in 2019, but the organization officially dissolved in 2020 and construction was postponed until a new community partner was identified.
5. In 2022, Nurturing Roots, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that values community, self-sufficiency, food empowerment, social justice, and education, became involved in the project on behalf of the Skyway Community through the King County department of natural resources and parks community partnerships and grants program.
6. Through community-led engagement supported by Skyway Coalition, the Silent Task Force, and The Urban Food Systems Pact, the park's design, and its proposed name, Black Panther Park, were selected.
7. The design was finalized by Nurturing Roots and Stone Soup Gardens in 2024. The park design includes various artistic elements, such as a painted raised fist on the central patio, that are directly connected to the proposed name.
8. Funding for the construction of Black Panther Park was awarded to Nurturing Roots in 2025 from King County department of natural resources and parks community partnership and grants program, as well as King County department of local services participatory budgeting.
9. The community-led park design on parcel 7812801985 pulls inspiration from the legacy of the Black Panther Party, in particular its work to address food injustice and community needs grounded in the civil rights movement.
10. King County, whose name is in honor of the celebrated civil rights leader the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr., has benefitted greatly from the various organizations and individuals that contributed to the civil rights movement in the United States, including the Black Panther Party.
11. The name Black Panther Park was chosen by the community with the desire to honor the Seattle Black Panther Chapter and the positive impact it had on the Skyway community and the entire King County area.
12. The Seattle Black Panther Chapter was founded in 1968 by civil rights activists.
13. The Seattle Black Panther Chapter established various community focused programs and resources, some of the most impactful included the free breakfast program for all children, and a free medical clinic in Seattle's central district that is still in operation today and is now known as the Carolyn Downs Medical Center.
14. The Seattle Black Panther Chapter was active until 1978, longer than most chapters around the nation, and had a major impact on King County.
15. The Seattle Black Panther Chapter's spirit and activism live on in King County, and the chapter will be remembered for its efforts and contributions towards racial and economic justice.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:
SECTION 1. We do hereby honor and memorialize the Seattle Black Panther
Chapter and its positive impact on the Skyway community by renaming parcel 7812801985 of Skyway Park as Black Panther Park.