(♪♪)
- It's a new year, and it's time to celebrate.
We'll take a look at our Lunar New Year calendars.
Is this your year to be on fire?
- And for black History Month, we'll revisit a conversation
with Seattle's adopted son, the late, great Lenny Wilkens.
- And I don't want those pictures to just sit.
- Plus, we look back at the captivating images of photographer
Al Smith and see how his work helps preserve black history in Seattle.
These stories and more are coming up next on City
Stream.
(♪♪)
- Hi, I'm Enique Cerna, and welcome to CityStream from the Wing
Luke Museum in Seattle's Chinatown International District.
Since 1582, most of the world has measured
time using the Gregorian calendar.
Pope Gregory the Eighth created it to better track the solar
year, the time it takes Earth to orbit the sun.
But it's not the only way to mark the year.
Many Asian and Islamic cultures follow the lunar calendar,
which tracks months by the phases of the moon
because it runs about 11 days shorter than the solar year, it's used more
for cultural and religious traditions than for tracking agricultural seasons.
Today, we often
blend these calendars honoring the rhythms of both
the sun and the moon while celebrating traditions rooted in each.
A perfect example, is Tết, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year.
It shows how New Year's traditions can feel familiar, yet different.
We'll explain how in just a bit
February is Black History Month, so I thought it'd be a perfect time
to look back on my April 2000 interview with the late Hall of Fame
basketball coach Lenny Wilkens.
Now, most of us remember him as the coach who led the Seattle SuperSonics
to the 1979 NBA Championship.
Of course, that made Wilkens a Seattle icon,
but there was much more to the Lenny Wilkens story.
He was a leader, a trailblazer and a humanitarian touch the lives of many.
-Bed-Stuy, is that
the area you were in?
-Yeah.
[♪♪]
- Wilkens goets the shot off.
It’s good! .
[♪♪]
He was born
Leonard Wilkens Jr.
And raised
in the
Bedford-Stuyvesant section
of Brooklyn, New York.
At the age of five,
his father passed away,
and Lenny,
as he would be called,
would become
the man of the house.
- Honesty and integrity
should define
your character.
You know,
these are things
that were drummed
into me as a youngster
and that
if you really wanted to,
you could impact
your life.
Wilkens father was black
and his mother was white.
She was a devout
Irish Catholic
who wanted her son
to become a priest.
But the game of basketball
got in the way.
And ironically,
a Catholic priest,
Father Thomas Mannian,
had something
to do with it.
- We used to call him Iron
Hands, you know,
because he would...
he'd grab you!
You couldn't
get away from him.
Father Mannian
saw that young Lenny
Wilkens was a talented
basketball player.
While he didn't play
for his high school team
until his senior year.
Wilkens still shined
while Mannian
was determined
to get him to
the next level.
- Encouraged me
to stay in school,
and then wrote to
Providence College
to get them interested
and given me a scholarship.
At Providence,
Lenny Wilkens
found success
on the basketball court
and in the classroom.
His senior year,
he led
the Providence Friars
to a 24 and five record
and earned
All-American honors.
[♪♪]
In 1960,
Wilkens began his
professional
basketball career
when the Saint Louis Hawks
made him a first round
draft choice.
But off the court,
he had his first encounter
with the Jim
Crow segregation
laws of that time.
- You'd felt racism before,
but you felt it
for the first time,
I think...hard.
- Well, it was
it was very blatant.
I hadn't experienced it
to that degree.
We moved into
this neighborhood
and for sale
signs went up everywhere.
We had a little Collie
puppy, and,
it was poisoned, you know?
So, yeah,
there was some
tough times, but I was.
I refused to
be intimidated.
Some people moved,
some stay
and saw that
we were just human beings.
Like they were.
[♪♪]
- But those hard times
would change in 1968,
when Wilkens
was traded to Seattle.
His floor leadership
and scoring ability
would make him
a fan favorite.
It was in Seattle
that he became
a player coach.
At the time,
Wilkens was only
the second
African-American to serve
as a head coach
in the NBA.
The first
was Bill Russell.
[♪♪]
- How did that go
when you first took over?
- It was a struggle
the first year.
And then what happened
was there were a
couple of games that,
I felt
my coaching helped us win,
and that piqued
my interest.
- Under Wilkens leadership,
the team was improving.
But then the front
office decided
to trade him
to the Cleveland
Cavaliers.
Wilkens was unhappy
with the move,
and so were Sonic fans.
The trade proved to be
a bad move.
Wilkens got his payback
when he returned
to Seattle,
and his Cleveland team
beat the Sonics
with the hometown
crowd cheering him on.
- I felt good
that the reception was
what it was.
I didn't know
what it would be.
And,
the fans were incredible.
They were tremendous,
and they rooted for us
the whole game.
- Wilkens
finished his
playing career
in Portland in 1975.
But his heart
was still in Seattle
and that would be home.
- Seattle has always been
a place that I fell in
love with.
My family
fell in love with.
We love the community.
The community
responded to us,
you know,
and my kids
have grown up here.
So this
was going to be home.
[♪♪]
- Lenny Wilkens
love for Seattle
and the city's love
for him
was cemented in 1979
when, as head coach,
he guided the SuperSonics
to the NBA title.
[♪♪]
- The Seattle SuperSonics
have won
the NBA
World Championship!
[♪♪]
-It was
just incredible.
And and I truly believe
that we would win
the championship.
I believe that
with all my heart
and when we did
and we came home,
there were 20,000
people at the airport,
which was incredible.
[♪♪]
- Over a five decade career
as a player and coach,
Lenny Wilkens
set a level of excellence
that defined his legacy.
He was a nine time
NBA all star.
He was the head coach
of five NBA teams.
He won an NBA title.
He was an assistant
coach on the 1992 U.S.
Olympic Dream Team
that won a gold medal.
He won gold again as head
coach of the 1996
Olympic team.
He was a three time
inductee in the Naismith
Basketball Hall of Fame.
And he taught
Shaquille O'Neal
a thing or two
about posting up.
- He looked at me
and said, coach,
you have to play
at this level?
And of course,
Scottie Pippen
and all the other guys
started laughing
and teasing him.
The neat thing was the
next day before the game,
he came
rushing into
the locker room
with a camera
and he asked
one of the guys
to take a picture
of me and him.
He said,
and I talked to my dad.
He said,
you were pretty good.
[♪♪]
- In his later years,
Lennie Wilkens became
well known
for his philanthropy.
The Lenny
Wilkens Foundation
raised money for Seattle's
Odessa Brown
Children's Clinic.
Wilkens mentored
young people
from all walks of life,
and, along with actor
Danny Glover
and other NBA stars,
he supported Rise
Above,
a nonprofit
that empowers
native youths.
- I hope that
the young people
that I come in contact
with, that
I help them
get to the point
where they
maximize their career,
but also that they grow
as human beings
so that it can
be functional.
They can take something
back to the community
other than
just basketball.
- In June 2025,
a bronze statue
depicting Wilkens
from his playing days
with the Seattle
SuperSonics was unveiled.
Honoring his legacy
as a champion
on and off
the basketball court.
- Yeah, I feel very blessed.
You know, with family,
friends, you know,
I mean, you couldn't
ask for more.
[♪♪]
- An interesting footnote to my interview with Larry Wilkens.
He told me about a woman who, through a relative of his.
Asked if she could meet with him to offer prayers for him
and the Sonics whom he was coaching at the time.
Wilkens was reluctant, but he eventually agreed.
When they met, the woman prayed in tongues.
She told Wilkens that one of his players recovering from an ankle
injury needed to change his playing shoes.
The player was a great shooting guard.
Fred Brown.
Now, after he changed his shoes downtown, Freddy Brown got hot.
The woman also told Wilkens that the following season would be a great one.
It was Seattle won the NBA title.
Rest in power Lenny Wilkens.
it's time to clean the house and make a huge meal.
We celebrate the Lunar New Year after the break.
(♪♪)
- We are the everyday storytellers of this great city.
We are Seattle channel, a
gateway to everything Seattle.
The intersection between government, culture, news
and the ever unfolding story of the city we call home.
So follow your curiosity and come explore
Seattle with us.
Seattle Channel.
(♪♪)
- Welcome back to City Stream
from the Wing Luke Museum around the world.
Ringing in the New year
usually means counting down to midnight on December 31st.
But for communities
that celebrate the Lunar New Year, the week long holiday is rich
with traditions, symbolism, zodiac animals and a long held superstitions.
This year marks the year of the Fire Horse, which many believe brings
heightened energy and intensity, especially for those born under the sign.
And while many Lunar New Year celebrations
share a lot in common, some put their own unique spin on it.
One of those is the Vietnamese celebration of Tết
Producer Randy Eng takes a closer look.
[♪♪]
- For Vietnamese people,
Lunar New Year,
or Tết is really the one
hugely celebrated,
holiday that,
Vietnam celebrates
and honors.
It occurs
around the lunar calendar.
It's a time where families
come back together,
especially in Vietnam.
And I hear this
from my cousins
that still live there.
They make their effort
to really
leave the city and, leave
whatever they're doing to
then go back to
their hometowns
and be with family
to start the new year off
on the right foot.
[♪♪]
Family is
really important.
Even, like red
and gold are still
very prominent
colors for New Year's.
We usually focus on
bringing everything
that will elevate
our luck for the new year.
Of course,
there's things
like cleaning the house
before New Year's,
because you want to
step into the new year
with new clothes,
bringing in good energy,
and preparing
lots of food.
Abundant food
is really important.
There's, Li Xi,
which is the red envelope
where, it's
usually the elders
giving to the younger
generation.
It's not just
about the money.
And you have to
do a greeting or, like,
say something
in order
to receive
the red envelope,
or else you won't,
or they'll be
really hard on you.
if you don't
learn how to say it
correctly in Vietnamese.
There are definitely
a lot of similarities
between Chinese
and Vietnamese.
New year for Vietnamese.
There's just like
small differences.
One that
most people know about
is the zodiac.
Every year
we have
a different animal.
For the most part,
we have similar
animals, except,
the rabbits and Vietnamese
is actually a cat
instead of a rabbit.
And I'm actually
year of the cat.
And so
I have this,
identity crisis every time
having to explain
why I'm this animal
versus a different animal.
Usually what's
on the menu for
Tết is a
variety of things.
Typically there's usually
sticky rice.
And we have both,
like the long log
sticky rice,
but also the square
sticky rice.
And I think
the square one is,
more known
for in Vietnamese culture.
And then there's
the braised pork
and egg dish.
It's a very homey dish
that most families have it
during dinner time.
Something else
that's offered
those red trays of dried
fruit and dried treats.
Those are really offerings
for guests and people
that come
and visit your house.
[♪♪]
I think one of
the challenges
we have with preserving
our culture
is that there's not
very many
places to celebrate
and to practice
those cultural elements.
That's why it's important
for the friends
of Little Saigon
and our
Little Saigon
landmark project.
The cultural center is a
key part of that project.
And so if we had,
a shared space, a
community space
that really
highlights culture
and highlights identity,
that provides us
the ability
to pass it down
through generations.
If we had a place.
And so
we hope that it becomes
the heart of
the neighborhood
and a place to continue
to gather and celebrate.
I would like to just say,
a brief New Year's
greeting to my community.
Chúc Mừng Năm Mới
các đồng hương
which means,
Happy New Year
to my community.
[♪♪]
- If you'd like to learn more about the Friends of Little Saigon, the upcoming
Tết celebration, and their plans for a new community center,
you can visit their website at FLSseattle.org.
One lunar new year tradition shared across
many Asian cultures is the lion dance.
However, performing it can be a really stressful way to start the year.
That's because some believe the luck of the entire year depends on how
well the dance is performed.
Producer Randy Eng has more.
(♪♪)
- The line
dance is not just a matter of taking the puppet, it's
moving it around with the music and call it a dance
the whole
point about the lion dance is to tell the story.
You have the lion represented like the Buddha, representing happiness
and the noise represents high energy.
It brings energy to to the dance.
The firecrackers
add to the level of noise that the drum, gong, and cymbal is already producing,
and the noise was believed to chase away evil
spirits.
The older generation, they use the lion dance to help determine
whether they're going to have a good year or not.
The lion dance
consists of a stellar line from beginning to an end.
Its ultimate goal is to go from this point to that point, get to the chain
and devour up the chain, and then spread out the prosperity that the storyline,
and whether there's going to be any mishap or any accident during the process
that tells them whether they're going to have a good year, bad year.
So in that sense, in the very old traditional sense,
it's very intense for both the dancer and the owner
just to make sure that nothing happens or nothing wrong went on in that situation.
In our culture,
people believe that the sight of a lion
is a lucky sight.
During New Year, they would go around and try to hear the drum
or hear the firecrackers and run to it, because they want to get a chance
to see the lion, because that's a sign of good luck
if they are able to come and touch the lion.
Better luck, right?
The luck level kind of comes up stronger, and if they get to feed the lion,
they get even more luck.
Because now if the lion accept your offering, that means it likes you,
right?
It just doesn't get close to you, but it likes you.
It accepted your offer.
So that means it's going to be more likely to come around and protect you and
and give you the the luck that you are looking for.
(♪♪)
Very good.
Not only does it
bring a lot of energy to anywhere, the lion dance is performed,
but the benefit of the lion dance to the member
going out and being physical,
and participate in a dance like this and continue the culture.
So we're going to practice the same thing and ignore this cameraman.
(♪♪)
- Now, the little kids, they were born here in America.
They don't know how to speak Vietnamese very well,
which is why they come to YouTube to learn.
So up they get to preserve their culture for themselves and share it with everyone
else.
- These kids are going to go up and take my spot
after I go to college and go to work.
By the time they get to my spot, I hope to be back here,
but we're going to go see it go full circle.
So these kids are you look at them, they're the next LQ.
(♪♪)
- The art of line
dancing isn't dying has now opened up to allow more culture,
more ethnicity, more genders to participate.
- Ever since I was little,
there's always this stigma around girls not being able to lion dance.
And before me, there's only 2 or 3 girls on the team.
So compared to the guys I feel like I've had, I push myself even harder
to like, be able to be compared with the guys I hear so often when I dance.
But when I take off the lion head, I'm like, oh my gosh, that was a girl dancing.
And that's the kind of reaction that I work for.
- I know what you want.
There you go.
(♪♪)
- This is a tradition that has everything wrapped up into one.
I got sport, agriculture, I got language, they got martial arts,
they got all of that wrapped up into one.
We wanted to maintain the tradition because it's a very good tradition.
The teenagers today
keep this tradition going.
(♪♪)
- Those kids make it look easy, right?
The lion dance team got its start right here in Seattle 50 years ago.
The youth group came along a little later in 1998, headed by Duc
Cash Vo.
If you'd like to learn more about the group, visit
their website at LQ Lion dance.org.
We'll be right back.
- Seattle Channel 2025
Northwest Regional Emmy recipient for Overall Excellence.
(♪♪)
_ Well, these days
we snap photos without even thinking about it,
saving thousands on our phones or even in the cloud.
But 80 years ago, photographers had just one shot and then they waited,
sometimes for days, unsure if the image even came out.
One very patient photographer did just that more than 40,000 times
over his lifetime, and his pictures would eventually become one
of the only visual records of Seattle's black community in the mid 20th century.
Connie Thompson and producer Randy Eng show us the remarkable photos of Al Smith.
(♪♪)
- He was always a photographer.
He was an artist.
It was like you were engaged
in what was happening at that particular moment.
That he would take the photographs.
What he covered was happy.
You know, he showed, people enjoying themselves.
And, when you look at his pictures for me, you feel that.
And, so when I want to feel good, I look at some of his pictures because it, is.
It's a nice escape.
- A great photographer always finds a way to be
in just the right spot at just the right moment.
And that was al Smith senior.
- He knew when to snap that shot.
People are having a great time.
He was tuned in to capturing, those moments that brought us joy.
- Absolute joy.
I feel like, wow.
I wish I'd have been alive to be around that scene.
That would have been pretty cool.
(♪♪)
- You can just feel the audience.
That's, to me, a very energetic photograph.
- If anyone has a greater appreciation
for Al Smith's work, it would be his son, Al Smith Jr.
Or Butch to those who know him.
Butch says his dad took so many pictures
because he truly cared about his central area community.
- He never would refer to himself
as a historian, but that's what he was.
- The nightclub ones are sort of the glamor
and the things, the constant shots and so on.
But his day to day work, in the community,
those are much appreciated.
- It's different when you have a photograph.
It gives a whole nother dimension.
He took photographs, birthday parties, weddings.
Oh, you name it.
He was capturing things he thought should be captured.
- He didn't just photograph black people.
You know, he photographed Chinese, Japanese, Filipino
- In the Central District.
In those days, it was just a melting pot and a mix of all kinds of people.
That was a very special time in Seattle history.
How lucky are we to have somebody who documents the history
of a community that otherwise may not have been documented at all?
- It's it's an opportunity to time travel and see how
vital and interesting their lives were at that time.
- If it were not for the Smith collection,
there'd be a huge void for us in terms of documenting over the decades.
The Central District.
- Redlining limited,
where black people could own homes in Seattle.
That was the Central district.
But gentrification has now forced them out.
Also gone.
Much of the rich culture and soul of that community.
- It's just really important to have the history there.
So people don't think, well, yeah, a lot of black people used to live here,
and now they don't.
- They realize the historical significance,
and I don't want those pictures to just sit.
But this is old.
Stuff.
- So, Butch, with the help of the Black
Heritage Society and the Museum of History and Industry,
are making a concerted effort to get Al Smith seniors images out there
as a way of connecting the present to the past.
- Look at those dresses. I know, yeah.
(♪♪)
- It helps to ground you.
And when you're grounded and feeling connected,
I think that that sense of community is more conducive
to building neighborhoods and the character of neighborhoods.
(♪♪)
Recently, we were having a discussion
about how character matters in our community.
And when we see these images and these photographs
that that capture that character, it just reinforces it.
(♪♪)
- It's a great way to memorialize
what the Central District used to be.
- Smith's photos are so captivating.
They were featured in a 2022 memory study called Sharp
Sharing History through Active Reminiscence and Photo Imagery.
It brought together the city's aging and disability
services and the University of Washington.
Seniors with early Alzheimer's or dementia.
Walked the neighborhoods of their youth
using some of Smith's pictures to jog memories and discussions.
One particular photo consistently got a huge response.
- That was the photo of the parade.
It was the big Cadillac with the Esquire on the side,
and somebody waving in the crowd.
(♪♪)
There was a lot of, oh, I remember that.
- When people can see these images in these photographs, it's defining.
It gives you a sense of place about where you live or where you came from.
- It allowed these black elders to be seen in places
where they hadn't been seen in a long time.
You know,
there were just a lot of great discussions and memories and a lot of laughter.
You know, he carried his camera everywhere, right?
- The Black Heritage Society and the Smith family continue to push
for Al Smith's seniors photos to be prominently displayed in New Seattle
buildings, as well as long standing community landmarks.
(♪♪)
All this to honor one man's lifetime hobby
and transform it into a lasting legacy.
- He would appreciate it.
But it's not something he expected.
He said I wasn't doing anything special.
I was just taking pictures. He meant that.
He was just surprised nobody else was.
(♪♪)
- Al Smith's
collection is currently being digitized by the Museum of History and Industry,
with help from the Black Heritage Society of Washington State and the Smith family.
If you'd like to see his photos, you can go to MOHAI’s website, mohia.org,
and search for the Al Smith Collection.
(♪♪)
- That's all for this episode of City Stream.
If you'd like to learn more about
the museum and its exhibits, and especially the Bruce Lee stuff,
you can go to their web page at Wing Luke.org.
And if you'd like to watch more of our award winning programing,
you can go to our website, Seattle channel.org and search for future shows.
I'm Ernrique Cerna.
Thanks for watching.
Happy New Year and go Hawks.
(♪♪)