With less than a week until the Seattle King County NAACP holds their elections, Sadiqa Sakin, a development consultant for non-profit agencies, is looking to make history. If successful in her campaign to be president of the oldest NAACP branch west of the Mississippi, Sakin would become the first woman and first Muslim to be elected as president of the branch.
Sadiqa Sakin is looking to become the new president of the Seattle King County NAACP. If elected next Monday, Sadiqa would be the first woman to be elected as president of the branch.
However, according to Sakin, her quest to become president of the branch is not about history, but its about making a difference and reviving an organization that was once recognized as one of the top branches in the country.
“The core value of the NAACP is social justice. So, we have to take that component and bridge it together,” says Sakin. “And so my experience in the non-profit realm and infrastructure of that piece is what I’m bringing [to the organization] and using those skills to help build and bring it back to the days of Carl Mack, when you know there was standing room for meetings, and people actually knew we were in the community.”
As a mother of four, who has had to overcome her fair share of challenges in life, Sakin relocated to Seattle in 2005 after removing herself from an unhealthy relationship with her ex-husband. With four kids between the ages of 5 and 11 in tow, Sakin soon realized how gaps in systems and resources can cause hardships on families and individuals who fall outside of the guidelines to receive assistance. According to Sakin, she didn’t qualify for any assistance because she made more than $25,000 in the previous year, and so she was left on her own accord to get back on her feet in a new city.
“I was homeless for a little bit and I went through a few hardships, needless to say, for like three to four months before I got on my feet,” says Sakin. “A lot of doors were closed in my face because I made more than $25,000 in 2004. And so it was held against me.”
Eventually, Sakin got on her feet and decided to pull together resources to help bridge the gap in resources that she had experienced. She used her own money that she received through an inheritance and started a non-profit to lend a helping hand to people trying to get back on their feet.
“I built it from the ground up,” says Sakin. “People go through situations in their lives and they just need a little helping hand to get on their feet for a short period of time. They’re not trying to exhaust the system and so that’s pretty much what I was going through. So that’s why I started the organization because I felt there was a need for something like that in the community.”
Sakin said the organization, which she ran for about seven years, provided vouchers for rent, food, transportation, gasoline, and other resources to help people get on their feet for a period of 90 days, after which time they asked the recipients to “pay it forward.”
As a result of her work, Sakin was asked by the Snohomish County NAACP to join their board and chair their WIN (women in the NAACP) Committee, where she addressed issues related to women and children. Most recently, she was asked to join the board of the Seattle King County Branch, where she has served for a few years now.
According to Sakin, she was surprised when she was out in the community working on behalf of the Seattle King County NAACP to hear people say that the NAACP did not have a strong presence in the community. Sakin brought the concerns back to the organization’s leadership, but the concerns apparently fell on deaf ears.
“What I was hearing a lot was that ‘the NAACP was nowhere to be found, we only see the NAACP when someone gets killed or something happens… if it’s something dealing with police brutality, prison reform, etc. But they’re not in the community,’” says Sakin.
“I’m telling him [the president] that I’m going to several events and there’s a concern that we’re not in the community,” she continued. “I sat there and I realized that its time for something different because I didn’t feel that they were listening or really hearing what I was saying in regards to what was needed and the concerns and questions that the community was giving me.”
“It’s the oldest civil rights organization and it’s one of those places that you think of when you feel like your civil rights have been violated,” said Sakin. “You think of the NAACP and that’s what it should be. Everybody should know where we’re at, what we’re doing, how to contact us and when they actually call [the NAACP], they [should be able to] actually speak to someone.”
While some would like to make the upcoming NAACP election out to be a personality and gender clash between Sakin and the current president, Gerald Hankerson, Sakin says that her platform is more about community building, engagement and improving the internal systems of the organization so it can better serve the community.
“I’m not running against the incumbent, I don’t look at it that way,” says Sakin. “I’m running for progress and at the end of the day it’s about our community and bringing us together and working for a common goal.”
“I want to ensure accuracy and full transparency in all of our reporting systems. I want to increase the membership and community engagement. I want to shore up all of the processes used to address social justice in areas of education, economic, labor, criminal justice, police accountability and all of our health concerns in the community,” she continued. “If we’re trying to set a precedent of excellence as a civil rights, community organization then that’s what we need to do.”
While she does not actively pursue the limelight, Sakin understands that as president she would be the face of the organization, but she also knows that you can’t be successful if you don’t surround yourself with a good team. With running mates like Jacquie Jones-Walsh, Claude Burfect, Jasmin Williams and others her candidacy has received a lot of interest and support in the community.
In addition to a growing level of support from many community organizations, Sakin has also received the endorsement and full support of Dr. Maxine Mimms, Rev. Harriett Walden and former Seattle King County NAACP President Carl Mack. Mack, who now resides in Maryland, initially was not forthcoming with support for any candidate for any office within the NAACP. However, in a Facebook post on October 16 Mack, in an unprecedented move, gave his full support to Sakin.
“I told her [Sakin], “I’m retired and I don’t want nothing to do with no election!” Mack said in his post. “Lil Sista won’t stop. Calling damn near every other day. To be straight, she reminded me of me.”
“I have never in my life endorsed anyone. That ends now,” Mack’s post continued. “I, Carl B Mack, hereby do encourage all of you who believe we can be better, who believe we can do better, to support my candidate of choice to serve as President of the Seattle King County Branch of the NAACP, Sista Sadiqa Sakin!”
Sakin is a firm believer in standing on the shoulders of those who came before you, that we are put in places and positions for a reason, and that we collectively and as individuals must utilize our skills to help better our community and the lives of others. For her it’s not personal, its about business – community business.
“We can’t speak about we want change if we don’t get off our butts and actually be the change that we want to happen,” says Sakin.
“It’s about our future, our kids, our grandkids,” adds Sakin. “I believe that the work that we’re doing now is going to affect three generations down in the future. And so the people that were in the civil rights in the 60’s, their hard work is why I’m here today. So it would be selfish of me not to use the skills and the knowledge and just hold it to myself and not help the next generation.”
The Seattle King County NAACP will hold their 2018 elections next Mon., Nov. 26 from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Shiloh Baptist Church – 715 23rd Ave., Seattle, WA 98144.
By Chris B. Bennett
The Seattle Medium
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