Description: The people of Seattle's Central District, forced together by discriminatory housing practices, built a thriving community that felt limitless to those who grew up there. Racist and restrictive policies meant to keep Central District residents in their place instead fueled creativity and resistance. These oral histories recorded by the Shelf Life Community Story Project, and illustrated by Central District artists, reveal how one neighborhood's innovation, art, and action shaped Seattle in ways that still resonate today.
This book includes original art by: Inye WokomaDamon BrownBonnie HopperErin ShigakiChi Moscou-JacksonJite AgbroRomson Regarde BastilloBrief description: Shelf Life is a Seattle-based collective of oral historians, photographers, artists, librarians, and filmmakers. The collective began as a storybooth next door to a community grocery store in 2016. Shelf Life is motivated by the belief that community stories and neighborhood histories can influence conversations about change and shift the way cities imagine their futures.