Mayor Bruce Harrell and Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda (Position 8, Citywide) hosted a ceremony on Wednesday to rename a section of Union Street “D’Vonne Pickett, Jr. Way” in honor of the late community leader.
Pickett was shot and killed in October outside The Postman, the mailing services shop he opened in 2018. Pickett and his wife, KeAnna — who have three young children — opened their business named after the profession of Jacques Chappell, Pickett’s great-grandfather, a mail carrier in the neighborhood.
“May we keep swingin’ at ‘em, and keep-on, keeping on. Never stop, never give up. For we believe in ourselves and we believe in each other, because we are more a part of one another, more than we apart from each other. Yesterday, today and every glorious day afterwards we are (the real royal family) and from that most illustrious ‘united’ nation of better growth and development. Stronger together, we are forever,” said Mr. Craig First-Rider, D’Vonne’s brother.
Last week, the Seattle City Council unanimously passed a resolution sponsored by Councilmember Mosqueda paving the way for the installation.
“We have heard it repeatedly from people who knew him best: D’Vonne Pickett, Jr. was a community leader and positive force across the city and within the Central District—a father, a mentor, an entrepreneur and co-owner of the Postman along with his wife KeAnna Pickett, and a lifelong community member,” said Councilmember Mosqueda. “It has been an honor to work on this street name change with D’Vonne’s family, and it is just one way that we will remember and lift up D’Vonne’s life and legacy, and his contribution to the Central District and the City of Seattle.”
The street, which stretches between Liberty Bank Building and Midtown Square, and is an area honoring important community leaders including Rev. Dr. Samuel B. McKinney Ave added in 2014 near Mount Zion Baptist Church and E Barbara Bailey Way designated in 2019 between Cal Anderson and Capitol Hill Station.
The resolution was written in conjunction with Mayor Bruce Harrell and Pickett’s family to honor his legacy. Mayor Harrell released a statement following D’Vonne’s death and attended his memorial service to offer his sympathies to the Pickett family.
“D’Vonne Pickett Jr. was a community builder and pillar in our Central District neighborhood who truly embodied our One Seattle values of uplifting and inspiring the best in one another,” said Mayor Bruce Harrell. “Even as we mourn the tragedy of his loss, we know that his legacy will live on forever in the hearts of those who he inspired, especially the many young people he mentored as they become the future leaders of this city. This street renaming will honor his memory in our Central District and enshrine the profound impact he had on our entire city for generations to come.”