Seattle Story Project
Read previous Seattle Story Project pieces in our archive.
First-person reflections published at KUOW.org. These are essays, stories told on stage, photos, and zines. To submit a story — or note one that deserves more notice — contact Isolde Raftery at iraftery@kuow.org or 206-616-2035.
From the archive:
I thought I was a Mexican chola girl — then I met my dad
We photographed Ericka when she was a sex worker. This is her life now
He met his first love in Seattle's south end. He lost her there, too
The first time a man hurt me, I was 8. My story isn't unusual
A man shouts racial slurs in a Seattle Starbucks. The silence is deafening
A Young Irish Mom's Painful Decision
I escaped Nazi Germany. I see its ideology alive in America today
My mom's mental illness told through photos
The Grief I Chose: Placing My Baby For Adoption
Caitlyn Jenner, Laverne Cox And My 7-Year-Old Daughter
I Didn't Kill Benjamin Ng, But Maybe I Should Have
‘Is There a Problem?’ That Scary Brown Man And White Privilege
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Stories
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'I somehow erased my Palestinian identity for the life I have now in Seattle'
In 1992 in Beirut, I was on a three-way phone call with an American DJ and an Israeli heavy metal musician.
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'It's Simon, not Tran.' Bullied by a high school teacher, this Vietnamese writer found his voice
After years of struggling to embrace his culture and hiding his sexual orientation, Simon Tran finally found self-acceptance and the Asian ally he needed.
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With marriage and a gender transition behind them, they dined at Canlis
After Maura Hubbell transitioned, her wife Lisa Jaffe couldn't find her "inner lesbian." This is the story of their marriage and the queerness of connecting after getting divorced.
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He was 16 when a cop kneeled on his neck in Spokane. He’s still making sense of it.
He thought the police were going to kill him on the lawn of his friend's house. Now he's teaching the next generation that Black lives matter.
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Georgia turns blue: Let's talk about why Black women always save us
It’s a dangerous statement that makes me feel like I’m required to be Jordan in game 7.
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I thought I was a model activist. Then #MeToo called me out.
Editor's note: This story has been taken down while we look into pertinent recent allegations.
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KUOW calls for bold essays on life and resilience
Seattle Story Project is seeking brave storytellers.
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‘The day I was reduced to a Black birthing body.’ A doctor reflects on pregnancy
I never would have predicted that becoming a mother would make me a better doctor. Like most Black women I know, I vividly remember every painstaking detail of my pregnancy and birth experience.
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It’s heartbreaking that RBG passes as record numbers of women fall out of the workforce
As for so many, the news of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing hit like a punch in the gut.
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I create myself, breathe lavender breath to escape the cage of my skin . . .
I wrote this line before I knew I would walk through a city called Seattle, before I knew I would step over squares of lavender light in its sidewalk.
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I want my hair to be fully gray. The lives of Black folks should end with dignity
As a Black man, these past few months I have thought a lot about dying. More than usual.
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'You chose to carry the lantern.' Response to a Seattle protester injured on the front lines
Many readers responded to our recent story about a Seattle protester who was hit in the chest with a police flash-bang grenade, at close range, on Sunday, June 7. The blast landed her in the emergency room, where medical records indicate she was treated for cardiac arrest and faced "life threatening deterioration." Here is a letter from a Black father in Washington D.C. , who said this young protester earned a place in his heart.