“Come As You Are” – Open Discussion Team Hosts RARE Associates

RARE’s Open Discussion Committee presented its first “Come As You Are” Open Discussion on the evening of May 19, 2025. The Zoom event was the second of RARE’s quarterly Open Discussions and the first OD for RARE Board Members and other RARE volunteers to join in and share their stories and thoughts on RARE. This session featured four RARE associates, as will other sessions to come.

Open Discussion Committee Chair, Robin Lange, opened the session by welcoming all who joined the Zoom meeting to what she hoped would be a “meaningful, informal, and fun” session in which RARE members could get to know one another better. She then turned things over to TaRessa Stovall, the moderator for the evening.

TaRessa began by noting that of all of RARE’s accomplishments, the James Davis Scholarship and Connections to name just a couple, RARE’s greatest asset was its members. She was delighted to introduce four of those “assets”. They were in order of appearance RARE founders and original co-chairs Tony Allison and Joe Hunter, along with Board member Michelle Fields and OD committee member Gerald Donaldson.

Tony Allison

TaRessa first introduced Tony Allison. In her introduction TaRessa noted Tony’s growing up in all-white Laurelhurst and excelling at Roosevelt in sports and in the classroom. She told of the time when Tony created a stir with a 1971 editorial that ran in the Roosevelt News calling for the firing University of Washington football coach and local legend Jim Owens after a series of racial incidents on the football team led to a boycott by all of its Black players.

After college Tony worked for an American fishing company that formed a joint venture with a Soviet processing company. Following his business career, Tony taught History at University Prep, founded by former RHS teacher Roger Bass. He later taught history at Ingraham High School. He now serves on RARE’s board and the board of an outdoor education non-profit.

TaRessa told of Tony’s reaching out to his former Roosevelt basketball teammate, Joe Hunter, after the egregious police murder of George Floyd in 2020. “The rest,” TaRessa said alluding to the ensuing establishment of RARE, “is RARE history.”

Tony recounted RARE’s founding. “We didn’t know where we were going. We just wanted to talk.” A  first Zoom session with several north-end white RHS alums that Tony bought in and several former Voluntary Racial Transfer (VRT) students from the Central District that Joe invited, commenced in June of 2020.

More sessions followed as well as the recognition that “it was quite a group” and that the general sentiment was “let’s do something.”

Tony expressed gratitude to all who have been with RARE, and especially to Joe Hunter who agreed to gather longtime Transfer alums for the initial meetings and has brought tremendous energy and passion to RARE.

When asked what was RARE’s greatest challenge, Tony acknowledged the ages of Board members, many of whom were nearing 70 when RARE formed. He is hopeful new leaders will emerge.

“RARE has been an honor,” Tony said. “It has enriched my life and understanding. And it’s been fun.”

Joe Hunter, Jr.

TaRessa then introduced her friend and fellow Racial Transfer Pioneer, Joe Hunter. Born in Seattle and raised in the Central District, Joe, along with ten of his Washington Junior High classmates, was encouraged by a Washington counselor to attend Roosevelt in 1968. He found the experience “meaningful” and excelled in the classroom and on the court as player for the RHS basketball team. He went on to play ball and earn a bachelor’s degree at Western Washington University.

Joe spent much of his working career in executive positions with JC Penney and was its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion point person for Penney’s western region. He lived outside of Seattle for 30 years before settling down on Beacon Hill. Joe’s love of basketball and for community involvement led him to coach neighborhood youth for years. In all of his experiences Joe developed a deep passion for equality, knowing that when it comes to equity, not everyone starts from the same place.

Joe described himself as “old school” and one to whom relationships matter immensely. He spoke lovingly of his family, beginning with his paternal grandfather who moved his family from Arkansas to Seattle where there was the promise of work. He told about his father who started his own business after being denied advancement at Bethlehem Steel because of his race. And he spoke about the sons he and his wife have raised who are college graduates and have led productive, independent lives from early adulthood on. Joe mentioned  his nephew, who at age 30 is one of Delta’s youngest captains. “He had a dream,” Joe said. “He had a lot of help along the way. He had mentors.”

But not everyone in Joe’s life had that support. He spoke of kids he grew up with that were “smarter than I was” who didn’t make it in a world where there was little room for error. “Instead of turning left,” Joe said, “(they) turned right. And I could have been one of those.”

Joe spoke of the children he sees daily in his neighborhood, kids of diverse ancestries, and he knows the obstacles they will face. He’s worried about the low literacy rates that disproportionately hits young Black males. He noted that Michelle Fields who worked in corrections could verify his concerns. Joe’s business acumen tells him that where there are problems there need to be solutions. And he sees RARE as part of the solution, aiding in education, literacy, and equity.

Michelle Fields

The evening’s third featured speaker was Michelle Fields, serving on RARE’s Board and a Connections committee member.  TaRessa introduced Michelle as life-long resident of the Central District who has always been active in her community. She earned multiple degrees while as a single parent raising a daughter. Michelle had a long career working in King County Corrections, both juvenile and adult. In both areas, Michelle earned a reputation for her skills in conflict resolution and in recognizing the humanity of those jailed. She became the first Black female captain in the county corrections system.

Michelle was a reluctant VRT pioneer. “I didn’t volunteer to go to Eckstein,” she said. “My mama volunteered me to go to Eckstein.”

Growing up in a multicultural community, Michelle said that she was shocked by the almost all-whiteness that was Eckstein. “The whole area was white, and they were not welcoming to Black people, whatsoever.” Brought up as a proud Black person, Michelle often clashed with whites which she said, “got me a lot of trouble.”

Though times were often rough for Michelle at Eckstein she was grateful for the experience. “I had a lot to learn – mainly to function around white people to be successful.” She was also determined to make it in a challenging world. When asked how she was able to meet those challenges not only as a Black female but as a teen mother Michelle was candid. “Anger,” she said. A lot of it, she said, was directed at herself, but she learned to channel it for success. “My anger is what got me through everything. It pushed me to prove to my mom and my dad that just because I had a baby my life wasn’t ruined.”

In fact, it was just getting started. She was a trailblazer at King County Corrections. She did well with the inmates by recognizing their humanity and being a good listener. And after a white co-worker recognized, respected, and valued Michelle by siding with her in a work-related dispute, Michelle changed her views of white people. “It made me realize that you can’t dislike somebody because of the color of their skin.”

When Michelle finished answering questions, Joe Hunter had this to say: “Michelle doesn’t hold back. She’s going to say what’s on her mind.” And if it rocks the RARE boat, all the better.

Gerald Donaldson

Gerald Donaldson, of the Open Discussions Committee, closed the session. Gerald attended Horace Mann Elementary and Washington Junior High School. Like Michelle’s mother, Gerald’s mother embraced the Voluntary Racial Transfer Program and wanted him to attend a more diverse school. She sent Gerald to Cleveland High School. He recounted the moment: “She said, ‘I know you want to go to Garfield, but you need to learn life.’”

Gerald’s Cleveland experience was positive. After graduation he served a four year stint in the United States Navy. Returning to Seattle he was encouraged to work as an aide at TT Minor Elementary School. He thought he’d give it three years. “I wasn’t sure I’d like working in the schools, but the kids just gravitated to me and became part of my blood.” He would soon begin to refer to the kids he mentored as his babies or young kings and young queens.

Gerald moved to Leschi Elementary School where he stayed for 30 years, often making sure his young charges had their basic needs of food, shelter, and clothing met. He was passionate about enriching their lives by organizing field trips and having access to Black mentors. Along with assisting in Toys For Tots, he helped establish the African American Achievement Program. And he played Santa on certain occasions.

Gerald wasn’t all that interested in talking about himself. He’s retired but substitutes occasionally at Leschi Elementary where he still loves being a mentor to his babies. He recalled the other day taking a child who was having a difficult time in class under his wing for a while. Gerald walked, talked, and listened to the boy. “We got about 5,000 steps in,” he said. Sometimes having someone to listen to a kid can make all the difference in the world to a young person going through a tough time. Right now, Gerald is busy and is getting ready to take young students to the Nelson Mandela Exhibit at the MOHAI.

TaRessa thanked all four main speakers as well as those who attended the first “Come As You Are” session. It certainly met its objective as RARE associates got to know four of their colleagues quite a bit better.  Though most of RARE’s interactions are still virtual through Zoom, it is a hope that RARE associates can more often meet in person.

The Open Discussion Committee will continue to present guests in the equity field as it has done in the past. And interspersed with those sessions will be more “Come As You Are” informal talks amongst the RARE family.