Topic: Black Americans
This oral history of Arline and Letcher Yarbrough concerning racism during World War II in Seattle and at Fort Lewis was conducted at the Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI) on January 26. 1985, ...
In the mid-1970s, civil rights advocates painted a red line on the street in Seattle's Central District, running along 14th Avenue from Yesler Way north to Union Street. The protest action aimed to dr...
Redlining and racially restrictive covenants were used in in Spokane for decades in the mid-twentieth century as ways to steer non-white residents away from living in white neighborhoods. Redlini...
Constance Williams Rice, Ph.D., was named in 1985 by Seattle Weekly as one of the 25 most powerful women in Seattle. Two decades later, Rice continues to be a leader in a wide range of civic activiti...
Norm Rice was elected mayor of Seattle in 1989 and served two four-year terms. He was the first African American to win the office and the first in the nation to govern a city that had an African Amer...
Michael K. Ross was a Seattle politician, construction worker, and an effective and outspoken leader in the fight for civil rights and economic justice. He was known for his demonstrations in support ...
The Royal Esquire Club is a private African American men's club in Seattle. It was founded in 1947 by five young men since there was no welcoming venue in the city where black men could socialize. Roo...
John Henry Ryan and his wife Ella Ryan were two of the earliest African American business owners in Tacoma, where they owned and were the editors of The Forum, a weekly newspaper in the Tacoma area. A...
Jennie Samuels (1868-1948) was deeply involved with the Women's Club Movement in Washington. She founded the Nannie Burroughs Study Club in Everett, and was an early executive member of the Washington...
Sandy A. Moss, a diesel engineer, was born in Topeka, Kansas, and was brought by his parents to Seattle in June 1900. As a black child growing up in Seattle during the early years of the twentieth cen...
Tyree Scott was a Seattle civil rights and labor leader who broke down barriers to women and minority workers in the construction industry and also worked to improve working conditions for low-income ...
The Central Area of Seattle lies midway between the Central Business District and Lake Washington and is the city's oldest surviving residential area. Sometimes known as the Central District, or affec...