Community takes pride in diversity

By MARK HIGGINS
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

On a rainy autumn morning, in a corner of Madrona's Sally Goldmark Library, a circle of squirming children sits at the feet of Erika Davis-Pitre, listening to a favorite story.

Black, white and Asian, the pre-schoolers are a metaphor for a neighborhood that prides itself on its racial diversity and integration.

Madrona is also known as a resilient, eclectic, tight-knit community that has played its own special role in shaping Seattle, especially in the tumultuous 1960s when Black Panthers set up shop there.

Madrona's racial and economic climate is shifting, though, especially along its hilly western flank, between 34th Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Way.

An influx of mainly white couples -- gay and straight -- are snapping up homes in the area, which has been predominantly black for many years.

In addition to Madrona's central location, newcomers cite its mix of cultures as an asset. Yet that's a quality vulnerable to change.

"I don't know how long the diversity will last," says Davis-Pitre, who is black and grew up in the neighborhood. She and her husband, Michael, have four children. He works at The Boeing Co. and she owns a neighborhood preschool, The Little Blue House.

Continued:

• Prices of homes skyrocket as area goes upscale
• Keeping neighborhood integrated may be challenge
• Fates of school and antenna tower among key issues
• Neighbors have worked together to build better, safer home