Crossposted from King County Executive, Dow Constantine

King County declared racism as a public health crisis in 2020, recognizing that governments need to acknowledge and respond by undoing the centuries of harms of systemic racism in our society and equitably invest in dismantling racism and protecting the health and well-being of Black, Indigenous and People of Color so that all communities thrive. 

Envisioned jointly by community members and King County in August 2021 and launched in March 2022, The Gathering Collaborative is a group of trusted community members who are involved to uplift Black and Indigenous people and their communities – those who are most directly harmed by racism. The members largely reflect these communities and have lived experience in these communities that they serve, with Executive Dow Constantine, Abigail Echo-Hawk and Dr. Ben Danielson, serving as co-chairs. 

The Gathering Collaborative is an iterative co-creation effort between King County government and the community. The Gathering Collaborative community members will collaborate with King County to equitably distribute $25 million that starts to undo the harms of racism compounded by the pandemic, influence the County’s budget cycle and process, and establish a longer-term, multi-generational vision for King County to become an anti-racist government. 

Learn more about the collaborative and available grants here.