Our speaker on December 3, 2020 was Dr. Sheila Edwards Lange.

Dr. Sheila Edwards Lange is the President of Seattle Central College. She started her tenure at Seattle Central in August 2015 as interim president, and was named to the permanent position in May 2016. Prior to this, she served as vice president for Minority Affairs and vice provost for Diversity at the University of Washington. Dr. Edwards Lange earned a doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Washington and a bachelor’s degree in social ecology from the University of California, Irvine.

Providing equitable access to opportunity is a key theme of the unrest observed in our country. Seattle Colleges are playing a key role in addressing this issue.

Seattle has three community colleges and a plethora of satellite facilities that provide $1.1 billion in economic impact. There are 44,000 students in the system.

• The median age is 28.
• 43% are non-white.
• 36% are full time.
• 20% have dependents.
• 48% are first generation college students.
• 49% are in career directed professional programs.

Seattle Colleges accept all applicants. They are focused on programs desired by employers and are a leader in innovation.

Dr. Edwards Lange noted that the Washington Roundtable forecasts that there will be 740,000 job openings in the next five years. Two-thirds will require a degree or professional certificate. Dr. Lange noted that students of color have lower rates of obtaining credentials; one of the results is that our region imports talent instead of hiring local talent.

Currently, students of color graduate at a 48% rate compared to 60% for all other students. Closing this equity gap is a key priority of the college.

To do so, the Colleges are committed to a Equity Can’t Wait program. This includes working with the City of Seattle’s Seattle Promise program that provides support and free tuition to students that enter the college programs right after high school. One third of Seattle Public School graduates are in the program and 64% are students of color.

Much has been accomplished the the Seattle College program–and there are many more challenges to overcome.

Join the Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club on the 18^th December 2020 for a Virtual Tour of the Copperworks Distillery. The Bellevue Club is offering some tremendous Rotary discounts on the Whiskey, Gin and Vodka as part of the event, which can make tremendous seasonal gifts for friends and family.  

Each purchase of a bottle will provide you with a free raffle entry to win some amazing prizes that include festive gift baskets full of goodies, an opportunity to actually tour the distillery with 15 guests, or win a trio of craft-spirits from Copperworks.

Check out the event site for more details! $75 Admission and Tour.

Courtesy of Steve Barton

University Heights Center hoping to collect warm winter clothing for the University neighborhood on December 18, 2020.

By Nancy Bittner

The Club’s program on November 19, 2020 featured our two newest members.

Wilson (Doc) Reed – Doc was born in Vicksburg, MS into a family of farmers & grew up in the small town of Redwood which became the home of International Paper Company after buying up many of the small farms in the area.  Doc lived his early life during the Jim Crow era of the South that was regulated by 22 laws regarding race relationships.  Because of this strife nearly 6 million Americans fled the south & migrated to the north & midwest.  He attended racially segregated schools.  Doc’s mother died at age 36 from cancer & his family pretty much fell apart.  In 1969 he boarded a bus & traveled 2600 miles, arriving in Seattle to live with his father’s family.  He attended the UW & earned four degrees.  He taught at Seattle U. for 17 years before retiring.  He is currently writing a book on poverty to Ph.D., lives in Shoreline, & is a single Dad to a 21 year old son.

Steve Gerritson – Steve was born in a small town on the coast of Maine.  His parents moved a lot as his Dad was a salesman, selling chemicals to dry cleaning businesses.

He went to high school in Boston, MA & went on to college, completing only one year before his father died.  He played minor league baseball for two seasons before joining the U.S. Air Force.  He graduated U. MA & received a masters from Princeton.  He worked for the Foreign Service in Africa & also worked for the MA state legislature.  Steve moved to Seattle in 1994 when his then wife was accepted to do post-doctoral work at the UW.  He was employed by PAC-RIM Enterprise Center that sold products to the government.  In 2004 he was part of Clean Tech Alliance & was part of the committee that hired Tom Ranken as its Executive Director.  Steve retired in 2015 & was looking around for some environmental cause to become involved in.  He found that most opportunities wanted him to “oppose something.”  Tom Ranken convinced him that he should try something positive like Rotary.  In his spare time, Steve has written & published two mystery novels & is working on his third book.

By Nancy Bittner

Dr. Michael Berry, lecturer in the Department of Music at the University of Washington, teaches courses in hip hop, rock & roll, and music theory.  He plays the double bass in the Federal Way Symphony & Tacoma Symphony Orchestra.  He previously taught at Texas Tech.  He earned a Ph.D. in music theory from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, and a master’s degree in music theory and a Bachelor of Music in double bass performance from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. He enjoys cycling, running, & cooking with his family & friends.  Michael presented a program entitled “Rap Music and the Law” on November 12, 2020. He focused on a trial, in which he was called as an expert when a young RAP artist was on trial for felony charges.

Rap music has been the bestselling music genre over the last 10 years and rap lyrics have been used as evidence against mostly young black men in criminal trials.

With the makeup of our club membership, it is fair to say that not many of us are knowledgeable about the ins and outs of rap music.  A couple of our members in the younger age group may feel differently.  A frequently asked question is “Where should one start if we were to check out rap music?”  Michael gave us a list of artists & songs that you can find below.

The lawyers in the club were interested to know if Michael’s testimony had a positive effect on the trial he was called to participate in.  Sadly, the defendant was found guilty and was sentenced to a lengthy prison term.

Check out Michael’s power point presentation & musical suggestions on our club website.  Enjoy!

Michael Berry, University of Washington: Rap Music and the Law Presentation (Slides):  Download

15 Rap Songs You Should Know, Michael Berry, University of Washington

As with any list like this, “importance” is relative. Some songs are important to rap’s history; others are representative of other trends; some are here because of personal preference. I tried to provide a wide cross-section with a little something for everyone.

1. Sugarhill Gang, “Rapper’s Delight” (1979). (YouTube and lyrics). This was the first significant rap record that brought rap to the airwaves.
2. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, “The Message” (1982). (YouTube and lyrics) This was the first socially conscious rap that rose to popularity, calling attention to the conditions in the South Bronx and similar areas.
3. Run D.M.C., “Walk This Way” (1986). (YouTube and lyrics). An important early rock-rap crossover that had lots of airplay on MTV, the song helped rap cross over to a white audience.
4. Public Enemy, “Bring the Noise” (1987). (YouTube and lyrics). One of the most outspoken political rap groups from the 1980s, with strong roots in the Black Power movement.
5. Eric B. and Rakim, “Follow the Leader” (1988). (YouTube and lyrics). No one rhymes like Rakim. One of my favorite songs.
6. Queen Latifah, “Ladies First” (1989). (YouTube and lyrics). The first lady of rap extols the virtues of women in a field dominated by men.
7. Ice-T, “Midnight.” (1991). (YouTube and lyrics). Ice-T is the godfather of gangsta rap, and his storytelling ability convinced me that there was something to be studied in this music.
8. Cypress Hill, “Insane in the Membrane,” (1993). (YouTube and lyrics). One of the first important Latino rap groups, and one of the first to vocally advocate for the legalization of marijuana. B Real’s voice is among the most unique in rap.
9. Notorious B.I.G., “Things Done Changed,” (1994). (YouTube and lyrics). Biggie was the kind of East-Coast rap during the height of the “East-Coast/West-Coast” feud. His lyricism is effortless and evocative. There should absolutely be a Tupac song on this list (check out “Changes” or “Dear Mama”) but I like Biggie better.
10. Outkast, “B.O.B” (2000). (YouTube and lyrics). From one of the rap groups that put the south (the “third coast”) on the map. This song goes—nothing else sounded like it at the time.
11. Eminem, “White America,” (2002). (YouTube and lyrics). One of the few white rappers respected by the hip hop community. This song is an indictment of the hypocrisy of rap audiences.
12. Missy Elliott, “Work It,” (2002). (YouTube and lyrics). No one has ever sounded like Missy Elliott, and it’s likely no one ever will. Her music is always unique and ahead of its time—she’s on the cover of my book for a reason.
13. Kanye West, Jay-Z, Rick Ross, and Nicki Minaj, “Monster,” (2010). (Vimeo and lyrics) For all of his eccentricities, West is a legendary producer and is able to get top-shelf artists together on tracks like this. Minaj’s verse is probably one of the best of the 2010s.
14. Migos, “Versace,” (2013). (YouTube and lyrics). I couldn’t stand this group when I first heard them, but when I came to realize that they were simply playing around with the sounds of words—just like every artist before them—they grew on me. They are among the most high-profile “trap” artists, music that emerged from Atlanta’s drug scene.
15. Rapsody, “Nina,” (2019). (YouTube and lyrics). Rapsody is one of the most gifted rappers working today. Her album Eve pays homage to the contributions of Black women to our culture.