Press Releases
Seattle, WA, May 29, 2007—Seattle Black Pride is proud to present its newly revamped website! The organization
has grown exponentially over the years, and we have had to adjust to keep up with the success. In fact, we have had to update
our website twice in two years—not including the websites for our Annual Black Pride event.
Many things are new in this version. You'll still find the same useful information as in the last version. What you'll
notice is a cleaner design and layout, and many improvements to help you find your way around. As always, we have listened to
your feedback and improved. And we will continue to do that, so please send us mail.
For an exciting glimpse at what's new, read on.
So, What's New?
- More professional look & feel;
- Concise homepage, allowing you to see everything at-a-glance, with the scrolling news and changing pictures;
- New Picture Gallery—with newly added pictures;
- New Search box makes it a breeze to find what you're looking for;
- New Popup menus allow you to gain deeper access into the website;
- Blog for news, events, and press releases that we will update regularly;
- RSS Feeds so you can subscribe to our blog and keep yourself up-to-date;
- New outreach section for our outreach programs, such as Body & Soul;
- Also new: SBP Timeline page and Incentives & Rewards page for sponsors and members.;
- New Site Map—allows you to navigate the structure of the site;
- Website will fit on older computers with smaller screen (800x600)—that's about 15% of you;
- We also made an effort to publish all our past content: previous press releases, newsletter, and pictures;
- Finally, many administrative improvements behind the scenes to make it easier for the SBP Board to publish contents to the website. For you, that means a
better, more up-to-date website!
A Brief History of the Seattle Black Pride Website
For those of you who have been following the story of the Seattle Black Pride website since its beginnings, you know it was very
involved work. And it needs to be. More than 500 people visit the website each month, and that number increases 6-folds during
pride months. People visit our website from all over the world, though mainly in North America and the Carribbean.
While the website is a very important part of the organization's image in Seattle, it is
one of the main ways people outside of Seattle learn about, and keep in touch with, us.
In fact, almost one-in-two visitors to our website connects from outside Washington state!
Hence, here is a quick timeline of our different website designs, and what we learned along the way:
Seattle Black Pride 2005 Website
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Some of you may remember SBP's very first steps on the web.
The first website was released in January 2006. We finally had a way to tell the world we existed. We didn't really know who we
were, so our attempt was rather primitive. One thing was sure: those weren't our colors, or our "style."
We also had a logo. That came pretty quick, we needed a brand.
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Then came April 18th, 2006. Time to update our Website to version 2.0. We were closer to our first Annual Black Pride event, and
were clearer on what the organization needed to represent. We still had flashy colors—though less explosively flashy—but
we still lacked consistency between the Seattle Black Pride brand and the website.
You can see the logo changed on this picture, but the new logo came much later, in October 2006.
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Seattle Black Pride 2006 Website
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Seattle Black Pride 2007 Website
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And here is the website as it is today. The colors are in line with the Seattle Black Pride logo; the design is much cleaner,
and the website much more complete and up-to-date.
Our new logo keeps the same spirit as our original one—nothing was really changed besides brighter colors, and a different font
for the text.
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Conclusion
It is amazing to see how the organization has matured in just two years. Everything Seattle Black Pride does is more. More professional,
more amazing, more compassionate, more effective.
For those of us at SBP since the very beginning, those past versions are a strong reminder. "We were there when this happened."
We were there to witness it; we were there to make it happen. But there is much more this organization can and will do. Sky is
the limit. So it's happening here, and it's happening now... The question you need to ask yourself is: where do you want to be?
News
That's right! Seattle Black Pride 2007, July 19-22, is coming soon; bring
your skills and share your enthusiasm while supporting your local community.
To volunteer or for more information, contact Tamu Nyasha, Volunteer Coordinator.
What We Need:
- Decoration and Setup Crews
- Ushers
- Ticket Tables
- Information Assistants
- Administrative Support
- Shuttle Drivers
- Production Assistants
- And more!
What you'll get:
- Two Free Tickets for one event of your choice
- One Free SBP Volunteer T-Shirt
- Personal Satisfaction and...
- Our never-ending appreciation!
News
Seattle Black Pride may be one of the only contingencies from communities of color at
this year's Seattle Pride Parade. We need to show the community that we exist, that
we are strong, and that we are proud to be Black and Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer! Kiantha Duncan-Woods,
President of Seattle Black Pride, has been asked to Grand Marshall
the parade this year! Let's support this amazing opportunity. What makes a
parade are the people so please march with us and bring your friends. The parade is
on June 24th at 11am so we need everyone marching with SBP to meet on the corner
of 4th and Union at 10am sharp so that we can get organized.
Call 206-321-9794 on the day if you cant find us.
Volunteers needed!
We also need volunteers to help decorate our float for the parade on June 23rd from 4PM-7PM
at the Seattle Black Pride office parking lot (115 16TH Ave S, Seattle, WA 98122). It will
be tons of fun and we are going to have a BBQ for the volunteers there as well!
News
All Body & Soul program participants: be on the look out!
Seattle Black Pride will be hosting the 1st Body & Soul reception
in the month of June. All Body & Soul participants from November's,
January's and March's Body & Soul Retreats are invited to attend
this wonderful reception social. This is a chance for you to share your
stories and laugh together about the things we have in common.
We will have fun while discussing things like:
- How did others worked through sessions that were challenging?
- Did you use it or lost it? Processing information learned in the Body & Soul retreat.
- My true self... Do I know myself better after my experience?
- Choices I am making in my life to be, live, and think healthier
- Mentoring with the Body & Soul Program
- What community resources are available to me?
This is a time for you to meet the others, ask questions and talk about your experience.
News
Seattle Pride is around the corner! Seattle Black Pride will be preparing for a major contingency in the Seattle
Out & Proud Parade June 24th and viewing costumes for participants and float ideas. What makes a parade are
PEOPLE... So we need everyone interested in getting involved to making the largest presence ever of Seattle/Tacoma's
Black GLBTQ community and allies! Even if you don't want to march with the contingency you can help make our float
fabulous!
We will be decorating the float on June 23rd from 4-7PM with food at the SBP office parking lot... We need volunteers
and a big crowd to help make the most fabulous presence ever of Seattle's Black LGBT community!
Lets make it happen in this years parade and show everyone the theme of Seattle Black Pride 2007...."This is Why We're Hot!"
Please come to the meeting this Sunday for more info!
We are also going to provide updates about the second annual Seattle Black Pride 2007 (July 19-22nd)!
During the second half of the meeting we will continue our community discussion series.
This month, we will be discussing "BUTCH...FEM...MASCULINE...QUEEN..." Why do we use these terms and how do they
impact our community?
Please keep checking www.seattleblackpride.org for the latest!
News
Many people send us mail asking "how can I volunteer?", "are there meetings I can come to?".
The answer is: yes, of course! We'd be delighted to get to know you, and we are a volunteer-based
organization, with people just like you, so please, please, come chat with us.
In fact, we do have volunteer/community meetings. Those are usually held the third Sunday of
every month in our offices (see our contact page for the
address).
The best is to call or email us a bit in advance to make sure a meeting is held. We are in the midst
of preparing for this July's Big Event (more on that later), so now is definitely an exciting time to join!