Community Post

UPDATED: Troubles At Langston Hughes

The Seattle Times has a story today on the recent problems at the Langston Hughes Performing Art Center on Yesler. The reporter uses a huge amount of space to document the bad blood between the managing director and artistic director of the organization (and the recent dismissal of the latter), but unfortunately doesn’t say anything about the most important issues: what’s next, and how will things be fixed?

Update:
The Seattle PI has a story on the issue today, and they do a much better job of getting past the bickering and trying to find the core issue. It turns out that Jacqueline Moscou, the center’s creative director, is still on paid administrative leave while the city investigates charges that she’s been racist in her casting and selection of content. But there’s clearly other neighborhood issues that are being caught up in this too, with some people fearing that the city is trying to de-emphasize the African-American heritage of the center. There’s clearly a feeling that a change in the center’s mission would be just another step in the ongoing gentrification that’s pushing African Americans out of their historical community.

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