Seattle Streets AllianceRemembering KL Shannon: Organizer, Mentor, and Community Powerhouse
- JoshHolland
- Sept. 10, 2026
We are heartbroken to share that our friend, mentor, and colleague, KL Shannon, passed away on September 9, 2026.
KL had a big heart, unwavering passion for justice, and deep commitment to community. She was an organizer in the truest sense of the word, and our lives, our movement, and our city are immeasurably better thanks to her energy, mentorship, and leadership. She was known and beloved by so many in the community. We have lost a community pillar and powerhouse, and it is our enormous task to carry her fight forward.
KL was a longtime community organizer with deep roots in Seattle’s Central District and a fierce, uncompromising advocate for justice. She spent her life organizing around issues that impact communities of color, including economic justice, housing, immigration, police accountability, and transportation. At every step, she brought her lived experience, deep personal relationships, connection to community, and an unshakable belief that the only way to achieve justice is to fight for it.
KL understood that transportation justice is inseparable from racial, economic, and social justice. She challenged us all to think deeply about who our streets serve, whose voices are heard, and what it really means to build a city that works for everyone. She embodied intersectional organizing and founded Whose Streets? Our Streets in 2020.
But KL was so much more than her work. She was a colleague, friend, mentor, family member, and a person deeply invested in her relationships with the people around her and the community that raised her. She believed in the brilliance of young people, and invested her time, energy, and love into mentoring and nurturing young organizers across the city. KL knew everybody, and she intentionally connected people she thought should work together toward common goals. She worked continually to build power and sustain generations of advocates and movements.
Her work was motivated by love — a deep, fierce love for her people and for justice.
We are grateful for everything KL taught us, to Seattle, and to the movements she was part of.
We will miss her deeply, and we will carry her commitment to justice and community with us as we continue this work.
Rest in power, KL. ❤️