This is the fifth and final article in NPQ’s series titled Building Power, Fighting Displacement: Stories from Asian Pacific America, coproduced with the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (National CAPACD). Authors in this series highlight stories of comprehensive community development in Asian American and Pacific Islander communities across the United States.
Community organizing is more than solving problems. It is, fundamentally, about being together—and thriving together. It is about both building and preserving the good things we have.
The White Center Community Development Association (White Center CDA), where I work, is deeply engaged in this community building work. The organization was formed a little over 20 years ago, in February 2002, when resident leaders came together to support their unique and culturally diverse neighborhood: White Center, WA. Our work has recently become even more critical, supporting community strength and solutions through the challenges of poverty, pandemic, and vandalism.
Community organizing is more than solving problems.…It is, fundamentally, about being together—and thriving together.
White Center is an unincorporated suburb in King County, located south of Seattle between West Seattle and Burien. Its population of about 16,000 is incredibly diverse; over half are people of color. It is home to over 3,000 immigrants from Vietnam, a sizeable population of refugees from Cambodia and Somalia, and a large Mexican and Central American immigrant community, among other groups. It is also home to many successful community-based businesses, including the 28-year-old Salvadorean Bakery and Restaurant.
In this community, poverty remains a challenge: 16.4 percent of families live below the poverty line, a poverty rate more than six percentage points higher than Seattle. As an unincorporated area, White Center residents and businesses often…
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