Best Starts recently updated our report: King County Communities Speak Their Truth About Racism with additional findings from a 2022 community café discussion with West African families.
Originally published in 2021, this report shares the findings and experiences of racism for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) parents and caregivers in King County. Findings come from the 2019 and 2021 Best Starts for Kids Health Survey and a series of community café discussions where families reflect on racism survey responses from their racial/ethnic community.
The full report with findings for 11 communities: African American, Afro-Latina/x/o, Cambodian (Khmer), Ethiopian, First Peoples (American Indian/Alaska Native), Hispanic/Latina/x/o, Middle Eastern/North African, Pasifika (Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander), Somali, Vietnamese, and West African can be found here.
NEW: West African Café Findings
Participants of the West African Café shared insights and takeaways:
— Participants reacted to the data points and agreed that the numbers did not reflect the frequency at which racism is experienced, although they appreciated the wide range of West African countries represented in the Best Starts for Kids Health survey data
— Experiences of racism were universal among café participants
— Several times, stories were shared where the racism was brought to the attention of someone in a leadership role, and it was denied
— Participants shared how, often, “people act like it’s perfectly acceptable to make stereotypes about African immigrants” or act surprised to “find an African person in a position to help them with their life”
To learn more and review all the findings, check out the West African Café one-pager below: