CDCPDA Celebrates 100 Years of Rev. Dr. Samuel B. McKinney’s Legacy with Springing Forward: Brunch for Black Economic Brilliance
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Annual gathering on April 17 honors the McKinney Center’s roots as a community hub and reaffirms CDCPDA’s commitment to Black economic leadership in Seattle’s Central District
SEATTLE, WA — The Central District Community Preservation and Development Authority (CDCPDA) invites Seattle leaders, entrepreneurs, and community members to Springing Forward: Brunch for Black Economic Brilliance, taking place Friday, April 17, 2026 from 11 AM to 1 PM at Amazon Frontier (2205 7th Ave, Seattle, WA 98121). Register at: tinyurl.com/CDCPDABrunch.
This year’s event is more than a celebration — it is a call to action rooted in three words: Collaborate. Sustain. Thrive. And it arrives in a landmark year: 2026 marks what would have been the 100th birthday of Rev. Dr. Samuel B. McKinney, the visionary leader whose name the CDCPDA’s stewardship home proudly bears.
Honoring a Centennial Legacy
Rev. Dr. Samuel B. McKinney was a towering figure in Seattle’s civic and spiritual life. A moral voice for justice and a champion for economic opportunity, he advanced civil rights and fair housing causes across the Pacific Northwest and helped launch Seattle’s first Black-owned bank. His life’s work was itself a model of the theme the CDCPDA carries into 2026: building collaborations that sustain institutions, so that communities can truly thrive.
As celebrations honoring Rev. McKinney’s centennial take place across the country, the CDCPDA sees Springing Forward as a fitting tribute — a living expression of the economic possibility and community self-determination he spent his life building.
Sustaining a Community Asset
The McKinney Center was originally constructed and started by Rev. McKinney in the late 1960s as the Seattle Opportunities Industrialization Center (SOIC), purpose-built during the height of the Civil Rights era to provide job training and pathways to economic mobility for Black Seattle residents. Its construction was an act of Black self-determination at a time when access to employment and education was deeply restricted.
Today, the CDCPDA owns and stewards the McKinney Center with a clear mandate: restore it as a true hub of community life in the Central District. Sustaining this asset — keeping it in community hands and rooted in its original purpose — is the work that makes long-term thriving possible for the people and organizations the Central District has always called home.
“As we celebrate what would have been Rev. Dr. Samuel B. McKinney's 100th birthday, we honor a legacy that embodies our theme: Collaborate. Sustain. Thrive. Rev. McKinney understood that true economic empowerment comes from building institutions that outlast any single generation. The McKinney Center—originally built as the Seattle Opportunities Industrialization Center (SOIC) during the Civil Rights era—was itself an act of collaboration and self-determination. Today, as the CDCPDA stewards this space, we sustain that vision by keeping it in community hands and rooted in its original purpose: creating pathways to Black economic brilliance. When we invest in preserving our institutions, we ensure our community doesn't just survive—it thrives.”
— Shaudé Moore, CEO, Central District Community Preservation and Development Authority
Collaborate. Sustain. Thrive. — In Practice
Springing Forward brings together community leaders, entrepreneurs, partners, and supporters for a morning of real conversation and community investment. The event is itself a demonstration of the theme: collaboration across sectors, sustained commitment to Black economic institutions, and the collective thriving that follows when a community invests in itself.
This year’s program features a keynote address by LaNesha McCoy, Executive Director of BlackPast.org and a nationally recognized leader in African American cultural preservation, hosted by TraeAnna Holiday, two-time Emmy Award-winning media personality and Communications Director for Washington State’s Office of Equity.
Every ticket purchased directly supports the programs, spaces, and institutions keeping the Central District rooted — including the McKinney Center. Individual tickets, vendor tables and full table registrations are available.
Get your tickets at: tinyurl.com/CDCPDABrunch
About the CDCPDA
The Central District Community Preservation and Development Authority is a community-governed organization committed to advancing economic opportunity, cultural preservation, and community-rooted development in Seattle’s Central District. As steward of the McKinney Center, the CDCPDA works to ensure the Central District’s historic institutions remain in community hands and continue to serve the people who built them.
2120 S Jackson St, Seattle, WA 98144
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