Last autumn, #MeToo flooded many of our social media feeds. First coined by activist Tarana Burke in 2006, the hashtag spurred a deluge of people, predominantly women, to show solidarity with survivors of sexual violence. Women’s stories also began to oust abusers from positions of power and protection – from Hollywood, news studios, and tech to education and the hotels and farming industries.

We’re seeing that in Seattle too — and more local women are coming forward to share their stories.

Nine of them shared their experiences last night at Seattle University at an event hosted in partnership with the Seattle Women’s Commission. They shared stories about harassment, assault, legal battles, racism, faith, youth, and motherhood. Their goal? To let other women know they’re not alone, and to remind the audience that there’s still work to be done to make our communities safe.

One of the speakers was student Haleema Bharoocha, who leads SU’s Gender Justice Center, a student-led organization promoting conversations about intersectional feminism.

“Even though I wear a hijab and am clearly covered, I’ve experienced sexual harassment in all its forms,” she told the crowd. “It has everything to do with power and control.”

Other presenters talked about the importance of uplifting marginalized voices, fighting the “cacophony of self-blame,” and showing up to combat systemic racism.

It was moving, and we feel lucky to have Seattleites who are willing to get vulnerable and share their stories to make our city a better place.

Didn’t get a chance to attend the event? We pre-recorded Haleema and another presenter, Sarah Toce’s, stories. Watch Haleema’s here and Sarah’s here.

Have other ideas on how we can continue to support conversations around this topic? Hit reply and let us know.

Stamped up. When the next election rolls around, we can now mail in our ballots for free. That’s thanks to the King County Council, which voted on Monday to dedicate $381,000 to paying for prepaid postage on ballot envelopes. Why’s this a big deal? Because free postage is making voting more equitable by eliminating the need to buy stamps, which can get spendy on a tight budget, and making time to get to a ballot box, which you won’t yet find in every neighborhood. A huge plus: Free postage has been shown to increase voter turnout — and that’s awesome for all of us. (Curbed Seattle)

‘A sub-prime mob boss.’ If you thought the debate around Seattle’s head tax proposal was tense enough, get this: Working Washington, a workers’ rights group, penned a letter encouraging State Attorney General Bob Ferguson to charge Amazon with a felony. Why? Because they believe there’s evidence to prove the tech giant is violating a state law “making it illegal to threaten politicians and other public employees with bodily harm or other damages, including financial harm, in an attempt to sway a vote or other official action.” Ferguson’s office didn’t comment, but other state leaders aren’t buying the argument. (The Seattle Times)

A pizza our hearts. There are few things better in life than a good slice of bubbly cheesed, crackly-crusted perfection, a.k.a. pizza. But where’s the best place in town to pick up a pie? That’s up to you. Seattle Magazine is holding a pizza poll and they’re down to the final four: Downtown’s Serious Pie, White Center’s Proletariat Pizza, Ballard’s Delancey, and the citywide Tuttabella. Go vote on their Facebook page.

Meet Seattle’s #NewsPoet. Her name is Imani Sims and she’s the first local to participate in a new program at KUOW that features poets responding to the station’s stories in verse. Here’s a snippet of her first poem, which was inspired by the film Black Panther and Seattle’s discomfort talking about race: “Greet the open: surrender. / Inhale hummingbird hymns. / Play without apology.” Hear the poem read out loud by Seattle Civic Poet Anastacia-Renée Tolbert here. (KUOW)

‘TIL MONDAY 🙌

We have a sunny weekend ahead of us, folks. Planning to do something fun? Be sure to tag us using #theevergrey on Instagram and Twitter.

We’ll be hanging out with members of the Evergrey street team at the family-friendly Seattle Maritime Festival tomorrow, if you want to stop by and take a zany pic at our photo booth. 📸

And oh — don’t forget to join us Monday night in Rainier Beach for our meetup with the good folks from South Seattle Emerald. RSVP here and we’ll see you there.

Get out into our city and have a great one, all. — The Evergrey