Black culture center leader calls Olympia council member racist during meeting
The Olympia City Council went into a lengthy recess on Tuesday after remarks from Hawk Foundation director Javoen Byrd during a proclamation recognizing Black History Month.
Following the council’s reading of a proclamation for Black History Month, Byrd was invited to the podium to speak on behalf of the Hawk Foundation for Research and Education in African Culture. He began by saying he had to remind himself to “control the boiling” in his blood.
“I have to remind myself that those committed to fake smiles and gestures of reconciliation are not interested in justice,” Byrd said. “Healing to them means assimilation. It means Black people proving we are palatable to the expectations of white domination, sometimes with the BIPOC face at the front of it.”
Byrd called out a council member for allegedly using the term “Victim Olympics” in regard to the issues the Black community faces in America.
“Do you think my ancestors care about the discomfort of a racist council member?” Byrd said. “‘Victim Olympics?’ What you’re witnessing now is a result of the normalization of anti-blackness.”
Mayor Dontae Payne then called for a recess, which lasted more than 15 minutes. When the council reconvened, Payne addressed Byrd directly and said he had never been disrespected by someone in the city in the way Byrd, a fellow Black man, had done, and during Black History Month.
Byrd and Payne then argued back and forth for some time. Byrd said the council chambers need to “give a clap for white supremacy.” Payne said the argument was not representative of what Black History Month is about, and that calling a council member racist in public is disrespectful.
It was unclear who Byrd was referring to during the meeting. However, Payne later directed his apologies specifically to Mayor Pro Tem Yến Huỳnh.
“I am trying really hard to stay calm, but I am furious about what happened here, and I think it’s really sad to see what was supposed to be a celebratory moment, which was to recognize Black History Month with a proclamation and share that with our community members that are hosting an event in partnership with the city to celebrate the month, unfortunately has gone awry by hijacking the moment,” Payne said. “Disrespecting a member of the council is inappropriate, and it will not be tolerated.”
Payne said “ironically enough,” the event on Feb. 20 is being hosted by the Hawk Foundation, with Byrd as the event coordinator. It is in partnership with the Olympia School District and will feature author Joy DeGruy, who wrote the book “Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome.” The event runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Council member Kelly Green said she doesn’t know how to be the best ally during a situation like the one that just unfolded during the meeting. She said it’s not fair on any council member, but especially Payne, who is the city’s first Black mayor.
“You are so out front about who you are in your history, and I’m sorry that you had to go through that,” Green said. “Please just know that you have my support, and I appreciate that this came forward as a proclamation, and I look forward to the rest of the month being slightly less stressful and hopefully more educational.”
Byrd provides some context
In an interview on Feb. 4 with The Olympian, Byrd said he disagreed with Payne’s statement that what happened during the meeting was not a reflection of Black History Month.
“Black History Month reminds us that the fight has to keep on going,” he said. “It reminds us that we have to force people to have uncomfortable conversations. It reminds us that our struggles, our pain and our injustices we face, we cannot allow for them to be swept under the rug.”
Byrd said about a year and a half ago, he reached out to the city to learn about its efforts to form a sister city partnership in Nigeria, and he was connected to Huỳnh and council member Clark Gilman. He alleges that instead of simply stating the city wasn’t interested in pursuing a partnership due to political differences with Nigeria, Huỳnh disparaged the country.
He said Huỳnh raised concerns for the country’s illegalization of same-sex marriage.
“Keep in mind, this is after Trump already just made a whole bunch of disparaging comments on Nigeria, calling it a shithole and all that,” he said. “And by way of disparaging African countries, sometimes it’s not that far off from disparaging Black Americans as well.”
Byrd said he tried to express the meaning of the sister city partnership as an avenue for cultural exchange and education, but it didn’t help. He said he tried to compare the importance of the partnership to other cultural exchanges that happen in Olympia, and Huỳnh allegedly said “We’re not doing the ‘Victim Olympics’ right now.”
Byrd said he tried to have conversations with various council members, including Payne and Huỳnh, following the situation, and he was dismissed.
Fast-forward to 2026, and Byrd said he received an apology from the city and he was invited alongside Antonio McClinon, a student mentor coordinator with the school district, to receive a proclamation for Black History Month. Byrd said he knew he wanted to take the time to address the conversation with Huỳnh.
“Black history in general is filled with Titans who have not silenced themselves to injustice when they see wrongdoings,” he said. “Just because I’m here does not mean that they somehow tempered me in any way or somehow that I would be docile in any way.”
Byrd said he feels that Payne’s cutting him off for his comments, rather than for going over his time, was an abuse of his power and a violation of his rights. He said the Feb. 20 Black History Month event with the city and school district is still happening as planned.
Mayor says actions have jeopardized relationship with city
Mayor Pro Tem Yến Huỳnh told The Olympian on Feb. 4 that what happened during the council meeting was unfortunate, and she doesn’t “want to take away further from what was supposed to be a celebration of Black History Month.” She said she didn’t have much more to say.
In an interview with The Olympian on Feb. 4, Payne said Byrd’s actions have jeopardized the partnership between the city and the Hawk Foundation. He said the Feb. 20 event is planned as usual, but that could change.
“I just haven’t had those conversations or anything like that with staff just yet, but as of now, things will continue as planned,” he said. “It’s really unfortunate that we have to, actually, you know, make those considerations, because the most important thing is to acknowledge Black History Month and to have an event that acknowledges it for our community.”
Payne said he finds it unfortunate that an event that was supposed to be about celebrating the start of Black History Month was hijacked by the “disrespectful comments” directed toward the Mayor Pro Tem. He said up until that interaction, he had nothing but respectful, cordial engagement with Byrd, and it surprised him how Byrd approached the council.
Payne said the situation Byrd was referring to occurred well over a year ago.
“And simply put, the Mayor Pro Tem has her perspective about what happened, and he has his, and they have their ways of understanding the situation, and that doesn’t mean that he gets to come to the council chambers and call her a racist, just because he has a different understanding about what happened, and they have disagreements,” Payne said.
In regard to cutting Byrd’s comments off, he said the council deserves to be treated with the same respect that community members expect from their elected officials.
“We’re human beings that are doing these jobs, you know, and we deserve that same respect, just like we would for anyone else,” he said. “And so, of course, I interrupted his comments because they were disrespectful, and they were uncalled for. And that doesn’t mean that we as elected officials can’t be criticized, but do so respectfully, especially in the council chambers, respect the space.”
This story was originally published February 5, 2026 at 3:59 PM.
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