Spokane’s East Central community–gutted and divided by the construction of Interstate 90 in the 1950s and 1960s–has nonetheless remained a hallmark of Black community, Black familiarity, and a shared home base. Though the freeway physically cut the neighborhood in half, it is still deeply recognizable as the stomping grounds for many who, within Spokane’s sparse but mighty Black population, needed a place that felt distinctly theirs.
Today, efforts are underway to revitalize East Central and restore a sense of belonging, economic opportunity, and generational wealth. What follows is a series of interviews with community stakeholders who reflect on what this history means–and what the future could hold–for one of Spokane’s most significant historic Black communities.
Jillisa Winkler, Executive Director of The Carl Maxey Center
Q. To start, can you explain what the Fifth Avenue Project is?
A. This project was originally spearheaded by Sandy Williams to lead revitalization efforts in the Fifth Avenue area of East Central. That is part of the reason she was so adamant about placing the Carl Maxey Center on Fifth Avenue.
The goal was to revamp an area that has always been a hub for the Black community and to bring that energy back through reinvestment, including investment from other stakeholders. It is also about making sure the neighborhood has the infrastructure and resources that other neighborhoods tend to get more easily–like sidewalks, streets, and crosswalks.
Q. With gentrification happening across the country, what is important to understand about the difference between gentrification and revitalization?
A. One of the most important pieces is community involvement. This is not about outsiders coming in and investing in a community. It is about community investing in community.
Revitalization means the community has a say in what is built and what comes out of that process. It is not just developers deciding what they think the neighborhood needs. The community needs to lead those decisions.
Q. Can you speak to the importance of Black business within this project and why it matters?
A. The area we are revitalizing was split in half by the construction of I-90. That freeway cut the neighborhood off from the existing business district along East Sprague Avenue and created a six-lane physical barrier.
That barrier made it more difficult for residents to access jobs, develop businesses, and support businesses in that corridor. The vision for Fifth Avenue is that it could become its own business or cultural district–a place where Black businesses open their first brick-and-mortar locations and where the community knows they can go to support those businesses.
The Carl Maxey Center already has an entrepreneurship and business support program, and Spokane is unique: while our Black population is small, we have a large number of Black entrepreneurs. The goal is to support workforce development and create more opportunity for those businesses.
Q. What safeguards are needed to ensure East Central residents are decision makers at every stage?
A. The coalition of interested stakeholders is a good starting point, especially at the design stage. The challenge is sustaining that involvement over time.
It is also important to be realistic and transparent with the community. These changes are not quick fixes. Community input is a long-term process. Some of these changes may take 10 or 15 years to fully materialize.
Clear communication is critical so people know their voices are heard and valued, but also understand what is realistic and when. In the past, frustration has come from overpromising and underdelivering.
Q. Is there a realistic timeline people should have in mind?
A. Realistically, a lot cannot happen until the North South Freeway project is completed, which is currently projected for 2030. Right now, much of the work is in the design and planning phase so that when that project is finished, we are ready to move forward.
I think it could be another 10 years before people physically see major changes throughout the neighborhood. Along the way, there may be park upgrades, walking paths, or biking paths, but a full transformation will take time.
Q. For people who want to support this work but feel overwhelmed, what does it take to move something this large forward?
A. The responsibility cannot sit with just one person. When the work is shared, progress continues even when individuals need to step back.
It is also about convening the right stakeholders. Our coalition includes state agencies, the city, and partners who have the authority to make changes. Having those partners at the table early makes the process more efficient.
Q. Can you share your personal connection to Spokane and to East Central?
A. I grew up in East Central. My family is a military transplant family, and my grandmother worked at the East Central Community Center in the senior center. She lived just outside East Central but worked and went to church there.
I grew up going to the East Central Community Center, which is now the MLK Center, and I knew many families in the community. East Central is a place where I was raised and supported by strong women who made a lot of things possible for me.
Q. What does it mean to you personally to see this work take shape, and what do you envision when you imagine the finished result?
A. I feel a strong sense of responsibility. I want future generations to have safe, culturally rich spaces to grow, play, and learn.
I imagine kids playing outside, community centers being actively used, more green space, improved sidewalks, street lighting, and infrastructure that reflects care and dignity. I want East Central to receive the same level of consistency and investment that other neighborhoods receive.
Ethan Mendoza, Professor, Eastern Washington University
Q. Can you tell me how you became involved with the Fifth Avenue Project?
A. I’m the External Affairs Manager for Raíz, which is a branch of the Hispanic Business Professional Alliance (HBPA). I was also involved through my prior affiliation with the Carl Maxey Center and through working with its Executive Director, Jalise Winkler.
For about a year to almost two years now, we’ve been working toward uplifting that area by bringing jobs, medical centers, and improving the neighborhood–not just optically, but in ways that actually benefit the people who live there.
Q. What does true restoration look like–politically, culturally, and socioeconomically, not just physically?
A. People don’t thrive without fundamental things: safe streets, lighting, sidewalks, reliable public transit, clean parks and public spaces, and strong code enforcement that supports homeowners and renters so they can live with peace of mind.
Restoration also looks like access to grants and low-interest loans for people transitioning into homeownership, along with construction and housing opportunities that make it easier to move from renting to owning.
Youth programs are critical too. Mentorship programs like those led by Michael Brown and Sarah Doo at Fresh Soul, and by Deacon Jones and Bobby Richmond with New Developed Nations–spotlighting and funding those programs is essential.
When it comes to housing, we need mixed-use development that isn’t luxury only. Small multifamily housing should include required affordable units. We also need to renovate existing homes–many are historic but have deteriorated due to lack of resources. When neighborhoods look better, people are drawn in, and residents take greater pride and care in their community.
Q. What’s the difference between revitalization and gentrification?
A. Revitalization means making a neighborhood better for the people who already live there. Gentrification is when investment improves an area but pushes current residents out.
We don’t want displacement. The key difference is whether people who live there can thrive or whether they can no longer afford to stay. That’s why protecting residents’ investment is critical.
Community input is essential. We have residents who sit on the Fifth Avenue Coalition and share their lived experiences–people who’ve seen the neighborhood before the Carl Maxey Center, before Fresh Soul, before changes took place. We don’t manufacture need. We listen directly to residents and invest in them rather than replacing them.
Q. How can the Fifth Avenue Project rebuild the economic core through entrepreneurship and ownership?
A. I’m big on locking in homeownership early. When it comes to commercial properties, ownership matters. We shouldn’t just lease. We should own.
Ideally, a Black-led nonprofit or cooperative would own the building and lease it to community businesses. What already exists on Fifth Avenue is unique–a concentrated business corridor with Black-owned nonprofits and for-profit businesses all in one stretch. I don’t know another place in Spokane like that.
To support new entrepreneurship, we need microloans, community loans, and CDFIs–community development financial institutions that can lend like banks or credit unions. The city could also create a city-backed loan program to reduce lender risk.
At the Carl Maxey Center, mentorship, training, and incubating micro-businesses were incredibly effective, especially under the SBRN grant. Even though funding has been reduced, those programs worked.
I also believe in letting culture lead. The mural at the Carl Maxey Center is a great example. Culture is the glue. It keeps people invested beyond profit. It makes the space feel like home.
Q. What safeguards are needed to ensure East Central residents are decision makers at every stage?
A. We can’t rely on a few open houses and call that engagement. We need real listening and real power.
I believe in resident control, not advisory roles. Advisory boards without power are just decoration. We need resident-majority boards with actual voting authority–seats reserved for long-term residents, renters, homeowners, and local business owners from that zip code.
Outside developers or institutions should not be seated at this stage. Residents have skin in the game in a way outsiders don’t.
And we need everything in writing: community benefit agreements negotiated by residents, housing guarantees included, and penalties for developers who don’t comply. If they don’t honor agreements, they shouldn’t be part of the project.
Q. How do we make participation accessible and sustainable?
A. We need early outreach and multiple ways to engage–open houses, surveys, and long timelines so working families can participate.
We also need to teach the system backwards and use plain language–no jargon. Power mapping workshops are important too: zoning, permits, funding, appointed versus elected roles, and how public input actually gets used.
And we should pay people for their time. Time is valuable. Compensation–whether money, food, or gift cards–shows respect and helps prevent burnout and exploitation.
Q. What is the greatest untapped potential of the Fifth Avenue corridor?
A. Fifth Avenue already connects schools, homes, churches, small businesses, and downtown access, which is rare. It’s ideal for walkable, slow-paced streets designed for daily life, not just commuting.
The corridor is perfect for small-scale mixed-use–not massive development: barbershops, cafés, childcare, retail, co-op or owned apartments. Ownership creates care and value, and it attracts like-minded people.
More public art and events would also help. Look at what the Perry District does with its park and seasonal markets. Fifth Avenue could have its own version rooted in the community.
Q. Finally, what does it take to make this vision real?
A. It can’t just be talk. Conversations can get stuck going in circles. What I appreciate about the Fifth Avenue Coalition is that every month there’s action–letters, interviews, documentation, visible progress.
We need to highlight everyday wins: Larry’s Barbershop is still open. New Beginnings Hair Salon is operating. Fresh Soul is thriving. The Carl Maxey Center is continuing to receive grants. New Developed Nations is bringing in students.
Visibility matters, especially on social media. But we also need real investment. Maintenance matters. The neighborhood should look cared for. If we want dignity, it has to show.
At the end of the day, this is about people. I’ve lived in Spokane my whole life, and now I have kids. These neighborhoods should be better than they were when we grew up. That’s the goal.
Jada Richardson, Social Work Intern, Eastern Washington University
Q. What does true restoration look like in East Central–beyond physical development?
A. We do a lot of things for East Central without East Central. Restoration can look like pretty buildings, but who is inhabiting those buildings? Who is inhabiting those houses? If it is not the East Central community, I don’t think we are doing a good job at revitalization and restoration.
Right now, restoration looks like families being able to reclaim the homes and the land they lost during displacement from the highway construction. It looks like families and individuals being part of these conversations.
I’m part of the Fifth Avenue Forward project, but I don’t live in East Central. I’m not from East Central. I didn’t grow up in East Central. We should be looking at people who have social capital within their community and inviting them to the table. Honestly, I would like to see my voice replaced with somebody who is from there.
Q. Who specifically should be centered and invited into decision making?
A. Business owners. People who have lived in the same house for 40-plus years. People who have lived there and are now raising their children there.
It’s one thing to live in a space and then leave and not come back. It’s another thing to commit to being there consistently and recognizing that difference. Moving away doesn’t make you any less from there, but as time goes on and the economy shifts and social changes happen, it can disconnect you from the real issues in the community.
Q. Why does decision-making power need to be held by long-time residents and those most impacted?
A. The harm is thinking you’re doing good work, but you don’t actually have the backing of the community. Then there’s no longevity to it–no roots for it to grow with.
Imagine coming home and someone tells you, “No, you can’t live here, but I’m doing this for your best interests.” Or, “You can’t come to dinner because we’re talking about you.”
We don’t do a good job of including those most impacted. We include those impacted, but we don’t include those most impacted. It’s one thing to have Black people in the conversation. It’s another to have Black people from East Central. Then it’s another to have Black people who are generationally from East Central leading these efforts. We need to pass the power torch back to those who it belongs to.
Q. How do you envision rebuilding the economic core–Black-owned businesses, land, and generational wealth?
A. To strengthen the economic core, you have to have individuals who are interested in doing so. In Spokane, a lot of people are interested in the economics of places like East Central, Hillyard, and West Central–but what is that desire rooted in?
Black communities flourish all over the nation. The difference is you have Black people who want to be invested in those communities leading the efforts–often people who grew up there and recognize the wealth of knowledge and history they hold. Do we have that here? Yes. But how do we leverage that into a real desire to build, instead of just making money?
People are making money off these neighborhoods. They’re selling houses. But where is it going? When you’re done, what are you doing? It’s about extraction. When you leave your community, what shape are you leaving it in?
My family is from East St. Louis. My grandfather left, pursued the military, and when he was done, he became a clinical social worker. He went back home–became a school counselor–and has his own practice. So I think about people leaving East Central: Is there a desire to come back and reinvest? Are we preparing people with the tools to come back–and do they want to?
Q. If someone is not from East Central, what does ethical investment require?
A. If you’re occupying their space, you have a responsibility to give something back. East Central provides so much: community, restaurants, nonprofits, hair care, parks, basketball–everything.
For to whom much is given, much is expected. East Central has given us a lot, so they should expect that we do the same for them.
And if the people most impacted are not at the table, those of us who are not from there have a responsibility to bring them to the table.
Q. What structures are needed so East Central residents remain involved at every stage?
A. We need to re-identify what East Central is. There’s a misconception about who lives there and what’s going on there–shaped by media and perception. We need to identify East Central as a historically Black neighborhood in Spokane, in the city of Spokane.
It’s like Hillyard. Hillyard is also a historically Black neighborhood, but we don’t identify it as such because perceptions from the majority have given it its own narrative. That’s what these communities are.
Identifying East Central correctly is crucial to what happens next–and we need to make sure the story is told by the people.
Q. What are the essential ingredients for success–accountability, policy, and cultural commitments–so it truly serves the people it was created for?
A. Most of the policies and commitments regarding East Central have been performative. All of them have pretty much been performative.
We need accountability at the highest levels. That takes organization and organizing around the people to hold decision makers accountable.
We can start with simple things, like the shrubs and weeds at the library. The library says those are wild meadow plants, but I don’t see that at South Hill. The city of Spokane gets away with a lot when it comes to doing wrong by Black communities–no matter who’s in office.
Policy changes have to answer: Where is the money going? What are the schools looking like? The school district needs to be included too. Grant is right there. Francis Scott is right there. What resources are we giving these schools? These kids deserve more than superficial funding.
It’s also health care, mental health care, food scarcity, and access. CHAS is near Francis Scott, but those kids can’t cross Freya because there’s no crosswalk.
East Central Community Center doesn’t have AC. Why don’t they have AC like other community centers? Seniors are there daily. There’s Early Head Start in the MLK Center. There’s after-school care and summer care. People are in that building without air conditioning, and that should be a concern of the city.
Listening sessions are cute, but what are you going to do after the listening sessions? You need a follow-up plan with action, and you need to update the community within two weeks–14 business days to respond to people.
And we don’t raise enough hell at City Council. The way people in the Valley show up at Spokane City Council is how we need to be there. We can love and respect people in leadership, but they still have responsibilities to the community.
Kristin Day – Principal, Francis Scott Elementary
Q. How long have you been principal at Francis Scott Elementary?
A. This is my third year here as principal.
Q. What is your connection to Spokane?
A. I was born in Spokane and went through Spokane Public Schools, and I had a great experience here.
Q. What do you love about Spokane?
A. I love that it continues to grow and change and learn to be better and more inclusive of people who are not like the people that I grew up with. I didn’t think I would be able to have a career in Spokane because my job was teaching English to speakers of other languages.
It has changed so much since I grew up here, and I love that. And I love being in this school where we have 60% of our families who are non-white–a huge variety of cultures and languages. We just had an event with kids representing 49 different nations and tribes. It’s a great place full of opportunity if you know how to access and create and connect.
Q. This school was renamed. Can you talk about the renaming of Francis Scott Elementary?
A. She was very active in the teachers union–really a model for justice in our area, and a trailblazer for many reasons. With the renaming, having the kids be the ones who drove that was really powerful.
I think that is a nice connection to what’s happening in the Fifth Avenue Project. It’s about bringing people together, reconnecting to history, and including as many voices as possible to talk about what it could look like.
Q. From your perspective, what does true restoration look like, given the displacement caused by I-90?
A. That’s a big question. There are lots of parts to unpack. That’s why I got connected with this project. I knew there had been talks for many years about what to do with the Department of Transportation land.
Having the opportunity now, in this space, to have connections to families and a place of trust where we can bring more voices on board–that’s really powerful.
Q. You see the environmental impact directly on your students?
A. Yes. This school and LC are the only two schools in Washington State located so close to a freeway. So we have air pollution, noise pollution, and groundwater pollution.
We have a safe and controlled environment here, but I know that’s not true for the broader community. Being able to bring ideas in, and also tap into the history and family connections in this region–that’s what matters.
Q. How have students been involved in envisioning the future?
A. Last year, through the Fifth Avenue Project, a group worked directly with our fifth-graders. They learned about redlining, displacement, and resilience. They got to dream about the future of the land around the school using Minecraft, Legos, and design software.
They started imagining what the neighborhood could be for them and their families.
Q. Why is trust so important between schools and the community, especially in disenfranchised neighborhoods?
A. Our public school systems have historically not been built to lift up all people. It has taken me time to build trust as a new principal. Showing that I’m willing to listen, show up, and not try to be a voice for anybody–but instead invite voices and create spaces–has been really important.
Q. What’s the difference between revitalization and gentrification?
A. It’s a fine line. You want to attract people to spend money and sustain businesses, but you also need to center the people who live here. The people of the community need to be centered.
Our kids are imagining city planning ideas, even if they don’t know it. They’re thinking about traffic flow, parks, and safe spaces. They’re thinking about what they want to access in their own neighborhood.
Q. What safeguards are needed so East Central residents remain decision makers?
A. It’s about continuing to invite people with deep roots, even when trust has been broken in the past. The work has been going on a long time, and that can be frustrating. But continuing to bring the right people to the table is essential.
Q. How do we ensure long-term stewardship–so there isn’t another I-90 situation?
A. This is where the connection to the school matters. We’re bringing up youth to understand history and advocacy. Even if they don’t personally feel it, they know what happened here. If they’ve been part of building it, they’ll carry on that legacy.
Q. What is the greatest untapped potential of the Fifth Avenue corridor?
A. It starts with place-making. People have to want to invest here, and it needs to come from the community saying, “This is what we need.”
It’s about creating spaces where people want to come back, open businesses, own housing, and build something lasting.
Q. This is a long-term project. What does it take to make success real?
A. People will get burnt out and pass the torch. It’s about doing this not for ourselves, but for future generations. Those fifth graders were talking about what they want this place to look like in 50 years. We may not see the fruits, but we’re planting seeds.
Q. What can community members practically do to stay engaged?
A. Keep your eyes open for community plans and events. Participate in feedback sessions. This isn’t the final plan–it’s about offering feedback and staying connected.
Q. Anything else you want to add?
A. Stewardship really matters. This isn’t about what we get out of it–it’s about what we’re willing to build and protect for the people who come after us.
Betsy Williams, Union Bethel A.M.E. Pastor
Q. From your perspective, what does true restoration look like beyond physical development?
A. The deepest thing about the Fifth Avenue Project is that it is more than just a building. It is about the people.
Coming here from the military, the first thing that was important for us was finding a community that cared, a community we could fit in. We were young people bringing our young children, and East Central was a home away from home. That is where we found that community input.
So when I see it, I don’t just see the building. I see the heart of my culture, the heart of my belonging, and the heart of environmental improvement–not just for the physical, but for life. It is a place where my kids could grow and be culturally fed, met with people who care, people who understood their needs, and wanted them to progress to be something even more than where their state was then.
East Central was the first place they said, “Go down to the East Central Community Center.” That is where we went. So I see restoration as bringing the heart back.
Q. How can the Fifth Avenue Project help rebuild the Black economic core and generational wealth?
A. Building generational wealth begins with entrepreneurship, with vision and the capability to empower people–not just with renting, but with a foundation of what it means to own. We never had the opportunity to own. Ownership takes responsibility, and that responsibility means training.
You can’t do it by telling people they can do it. You have to show them how to do it. You have to provide provisions for doing that. Fifth Avenue has to provide the land, the resources, and the capability for people to have what they need to be successful.
And we have to think about housing too. When it comes time when you can no longer own your home, can you stay in this community? Affordability is critical. Seniors should be able to remain in the same place where they grew. That is sustainability.
Q. Why is building a system to keep people stable so important?
A. I have seen sustainable evidence of that. I am not just saying it. I have lived it.
We need to make sure it happens strategically, so it is affordable and sustainable–so it is not just an option, it is a system. We struggle with systems that have kept us out. Now we need to build our own system to keep us stable.
Q. What’s the difference between revitalization and gentrification?
A. Change is not bad, but when change does not happen with our interests in mind, it is not for us. When people get phased out, that is not care–that is negligence.
Q. What safeguards are needed to ensure deep-rooted residents have decision-making power?
A. You have to find them and seat them at the table. You must go to them. Don’t exclude, and don’t be ultra-selective either. If you don’t do the good, the bad, and the ugly, you lose the truth.
Q. What are the essential ingredients for this initiative to succeed?
A. People have to be true to the heart of the community and don’t stop until it’s complete. Make sure our kids are involved too. Let them have a say. That is how you build continuity–generational continuity.