Born into an Air Force family stationed in Japan, Eleta spent her early years outside the racial landscape of the United States. As a young Black female coming to the American South days before the assassination of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., she was in for a crash course in U.S. race relations.

She credits this early life experience for the formation of her life avocation: building bridges across differences. She has made it her life’s mission to reach across aisles, heal historical wounds, and reacquaint people with their latent humanity. Fueled by a passion for justice and equity, she brings an exacting approach to liberation work, addressing multiple axes of oppression, and centering awareness on our collective and personal histories.

Eleta founded Black Men Against Domestic Violence in Snohomish County, and is a co-founder of the South King County LGBTQ Task Force. She served as a member of LGBTQ Allyship’s South King County LGBTQ Housing Committee. The inaugural chair of the King County Health Care for the Homeless Network Governance Council, Eleta continues to serve as the convener of the Equity and Social Justice Committee and as the First Mother of Liberation United Church of Christ, Seattle.

Eleta on Color Commentary

Listen to Eleta discuss environmental justice, Black Lives Matter, and Kwaanza on the Color Commentary radio program.