De’Auzjanae Pickett

A portion of E Union linking two important corners in the Central District’s history and community has a new name.

New honorary street signs have gone up marking D’Vonne Pickett Jr. Way.

At a ceremony marking the new honorary designation, De’Auzjanae Pickett said it was a fitting way to remember her brother.

“As you guys all know, this block, this scene as a whole, played a major role in D’Vonne’s upbringing and who he was and who he is and where his legacy will continue to go,” she said.

This week, loved ones and family were joined by Mayor Bruce Harrell, and City Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda at a ceremony marking the installation of the new honorary street signs joining the existing E Union signage just west of 23rd and Union, the Liberty Bank Building, and Midtown Square.

“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,” Harrell said.

“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,” the mayor said.

Pickett was gunned down in October outside The Postman, the mailing services shop he opened with his wife KeAnna Pickett in 2018 at MLK and Union. The father, business owner, and youth football coach was 31.

The man charged in Pickett’s murder amid a “psychotic” string of shootings leading up to the MLK and Union killing remains in custody. CHS also reported on a mistake made in the dispatch process for Seattle Fire that cost valuable minutes in the efforts to save Pickett’s life.

Gun violence has continued to plague Seattle and the region, part of nationwide surge in shootings that has grown worse under pandemic conditions and sputtering economics. Shots fired and shooting injuries continued to surge through 2022 into 2023 across the country and in King County driven by factors including social service cutbacks, and the prevalence of firearms.

The effort to memorialize Pickett with the honorary street renaming came together quickly after last week’s unanimous vote by the Seattle City Council approving Mosqueda’s resolution calling for the designation.

The stretch will join other blocks in the area honoring important and loved figures 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.

“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,” Mosqueda said at Wednesday’s ceremony. “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.”

Though the new street signs mark a terrible loss, family also spoke Wednesday of inspiration in Pickett’s legacy.

“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,” Pickett’s brother Craig First-Rider said. “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.”

KeAnna Pickett has reopened The Postman and the shop continues to provide mailing services at MLK and Union. In addition to becoming a thriving business, the shop is part of a strong connection to D’Vonne’s grandfather Jacques Chappell who served as a mail carrier for the USPS in Seattle for nearly 40 years. “When I think of him, he was a provider,” D’Vonne Pickett told CHS about Chappell who passed away early in 2018 at the age of 98. “I know he’s smiling and he’s proud,” D’Vonne said.

#ThePostman – “Our hero is forever etched in our hearts.”

Yesterday, a section of East Union Street was given the honorary designation of D’Vonne Pickett Jr. Way. In an emotional ceremony, family members and friends of Pickett as well as city officials spoke about the impact he… pic.twitter.com/V1yD7jMRaq

— Converge Media (@WWConverge) February 23, 2023

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