By Aaron Allen and Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium
The disappointment, outrage, and controversy over the Dolls and Gents Drill Team and Drumline’s removal from participating in this year’s Seafair Torchlight Parade continues to mount as members of the African American community are upset about what they perceive to be insensitive measures by Seafair organizers, who continued to prominently utilize an image of the drill team after their removal for the organization’s post-event marketing efforts.
Following an incident that took place at the Seafair Chinatown Parade, Seafair organizers informed the Dolls and Gents Drill Team two days prior to the Torchlight Parade that they would not be allowed to participate in this year’s parade out of fear for public safety, as one of the team members, a 14-year-old drummer, had been shot and killed in Auburn a few weeks prior. According to an official with the Dolls and Gents, a Seafair official alleged that one of the reasons for their removal from the parade lineup was because the group was considered to be gang-affiliated and was apparently being targeted by a group of teens who were arrested by Seattle Police at the Chinatown parade, which the Dolls and Gents were participating in.
“The community has shown tremendous support, and we are truly grateful for that. However, this situation remains deeply disheartening. Our children and their parents have asked questions that, even now, we still cannot answer,” says Makessa Jackson, co-founder of the Dolls and Gents Drill Team.
Despite not being able to participate in the parade, which is the highlight of the year for the participants on the team, the members of the team woke up the morning after the parade only to see the image of their drill team being used as part of Seafair’s post-parade promotions. The image, which is used as part of the Torchlight Parade’s logo, prominently displays a member of the Dolls and Gents in place of the letter “I” in the word “Torchlight.” While many agree that the logo may have been designed well before the parade, they also agree that it sends the wrong message to the members of the drill team and adds insult to injury.
“I have two words for the Seafair organization using the image of the drill team while not allowing them to participate: cultural misappropriation,” says Alvin Harris, a member of the community who attended both the Chinatown and Torchlight Parades. “They know we are going to draw a crowd, but then again, we are not involved in the parade, so, yeah, I have some feeling about that.”
Keisha Credit, a local entrepreneur who spent twelve years as a member of a drill team herself as a youth, believes that the lack of diversity may have played a role in the decision-making made by Seafair’s Public Relations team to continue to use the image.
“Do I think that someone intentionally set out to enact cultural misappropriation? No, but do I think that when you have a lack of diversity in a PR team that is looking to promote a certain type of image, there has always been a historical representation that centers around the image of black children,” says Credit. “I think that if they were going to make a drastic last-minute decision, then it was up to Seafair to continue that decision through and understand that this team is removed [from the parade].”
“I think it’s irresponsible, and I think it’s a miss—somebody did not do their due diligence, and I just don’t get how an organization as big as Seafair doesn’t have new images [that they could have used],” added Credit. “I feel like Seafair as an organization, what they communicated to the public was almost a ‘shut up’ note, and that is what really kind of frustrated me about Seafair and the way that they went about [dealing with this issue].”
The drill team, which has over 100 members, consists of young kids, many of whom are seniors who are devastated because this was their last opportunity to perform in the parade.
Jackson says that the team is disappointed in how they’ve been treated by Seafair and has yet to receive an apology from them.
“Our program has been a part of Seafair’s marketing campaign for years, yet I can’t help but wonder if anyone ever considered reaching out to us before making their final decision. It seems this was overlooked because Seafair didn’t feel they owed us that respect,” says Jackson. “We have ten college-bound young men and women who graduated from our program, and they feel like something significant was unjustly taken from them.”
Credit believes that by using the Dolls and Gents image in their post-parade advertisement, Seafair is seemingly protecting themselves from community backlash and being insensitive to the team.
“It seems like they’re continually trying to protect the interests of the community, but that community does not involve the members of the organization that was affected,” says Credit. “So who are they protecting? It just seems like they’re protecting themselves while still utilizing the image of the people that were hurt, and it’s just insensitive.”
Ginny Gillory, a parent of a current Dolls and Gents member, feels that the drill team was “cheated from their experience,” and the use of the team’s image after they were not allowed to participate in the parade only adds to the disappointment of the team members and their families.
“I don’t think that they should have used it. I think that was a cowardly move. They should have immediately removed it off of everything,” says Gillory, whose daughter is a senior and was in her last year of performing with the Dolls and Gents. “Seafair said that we could come back next year, and I hope to goodness that the organization finds other parades and things to attend. Unfortunately, my daughter won’t be able to come back.”
Shantel Reed, also a mother of a drill member, says that her daughter, who has been with the Dolls and Gents for 10 years, is very disappointed about the way her last year as a member of the team ended.
“This was my daughter’s last year, and so for her not to be able to participate in the last parade, the biggest parade of the year, is very unfortunate because they practice all year to get to that point,” says Reed. “It was just very disappointing for her, and then for them to keep using the image but not allowing us to participate is almost like a slap in the face.”
Editor’s Note: The Seattle Medium attempted to reach out to Seafair multiple times for comment with regards to this story, but they had not responded prior to press time.