Fly to the Assemblies!: Seattle and the Rise of the Resistance

"But here is the thing with listening. At some point, it is not enough. The silence of the attentive, after all, sounds exactly the same as the silence of the complicit. . . . The question, then, becomes when to act: at what point is it appropriate to stop listening and actually say something?"
from the Afterword

Seattle has long been considered a center of progressive thought and action. And while that is largely true, like any other growing city it has wrestled with familiar demons: racism, class struggles, economic opportunism, sexism, and more. But since the 2016 election, the city has emerged as a central staging ground for the resistance against the new administration, its policies, and the rising wave of the far right.

Amid such turbulent times, we must not let injustice become the new status quo. We must question, criticize, and challenge the socio-political structures in place, and seek out solutions and changes that represent all Americans, not just a privileged and wealthy few. The diverse voices of the writers, activists and journalists in Fly To The Assemblies! explore the redoubled challenges facing citizens today.

"Fly to the Assemblies is a collection of work from 23 Seattle-based writers and activists produced during the first 10 months of the Trump administration that attempts to put down on paper the complex, evolving emotional reality faced by residents of the Emerald City.

"The essays, produced by a diverse array of writers, are not interlocking puzzle pieces chosen by the curators to form a clear, calculated image of Seattle as the standard-bearer of the resistance to the new administration.

"Instead, editor Marcus Harrison Green of the South Seattle Emerald, with an assist from Mark Baumgarten of Seattle Weekly, selected works in which writers boldly set forth their authentic reactions to the election of Donald Trump and the flood of hate and violence that moment unleashed.

"Sometimes despairing, sometimes hopeful, sometimes analytical, the essays provide shifting windows into the experiences of men, women and young adults as they grapple with the threat from the other Washington, and what it means to them. White authors reflect on their responsibilities to people of color and marginalized groups as racism and bigotry was flaunted with such audacity that even the privileged could not ignore it." Ashley Archibald, Real Change News.