SEATTLE

Martin Luther King Day – Third Monday in January, Multiple venues Seattle has one of the largest annual celebrations in the nation, with workshops, a rally and march. Events honor the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., for his work toward racial equality and toward economic justice for all people, for his commitment to nonviolence, and for his stand against war and militarism. www.mlkseattle.org

African American heritage in Washington goes back to the territorial era, with the arrival of Black pioneers who settled in both rural and urban areas. In 1845, George W. and Isabella James Bush and their five sons left Missouri and settled in South Puget Sound in an area now known as Bush Prairie.

Seattle’s earliest African American resident was Manuel Lopes, who came originally from Cape Verde and worked in the Atlantic whaling trade before arriving in Seattle in 1852, where he worked as a restaurateur and barber. Entrepreneur William Grose came to Seattle in 1861, establishing a hotel near the waterfront and later buying a large ranch property above the Madison Valley east of downtown.

In the 1880s and 1890s, African Americans from the South were recruited to work in the coal mines of the Pacific Northwest, in towns such as Roslyn, Newcastle and Franklin. Although discrimination limited employment for Blacks in many industries and professions, the region offered opportunities for land ownership and economic improvement.

Two distinct African American neighborhoods developed in Seattle, in the East Madison area and the Yesler–Jackson area, and these eventually grew together to form the Central District or Central Area, as it is known today. Churches, fraternal organizations and clubs established in the late 19th and early 20th century continue to serve the community.

SPECIAL EVENTS

MUSEUMS, NEIGHBORHOODS, HERITAGE SITES, SPECIAL EVENTS AND MORE...W

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Seattle Cultural Guides are a resource for visitors who want to explore the city’s rich cultural heritage. The guides feature museums and historic sites, public art works, and tourist attractions that give visitors an insider’s view of Seattle’s ethnic communities and unique history.

Seattle is proud of its diverse ethnic and cultural heritage, and its communities continue to value traditions of language, music and dance, food, arts and crafts, and celebrations that mark seasonal cycles and commemorate special events. Visitors are invited to experience these traditions and participate in these events, and in doing so, to see more of Seattle’s rich cultural dimensions.

The Cultural Guides project was created by the Cultural Tourism Program of Seattle’s Convention and Visitors Bureau, with funding from 4Culture (King County Lodging Tax) and the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. The places, events and stories featured in the Cultural Guides that make Seattle unique are preserved and shared by dozens of community organizations and small businesses. The Bureau thanks them for their work, and especially thanks the many community volunteers who reviewed and contributed to this project.

Visit Seattle Cultural Guides online at visitseattle.org/cultural for updates and printable guides, as well as additional information on featured cultural sites. This web site also offers a comprehensive searchable calendar of cultural events including museums, performances and festivals.

In Seattle, stop by the Seattle Visitor Center & Concierge Services kiosk at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center, on Pike Street between 7th and 8th Avenues, for a full range of information to enhance your visit.

www.visitseattle.org/cultural

ABOUT THE CULTURAL GUIDE SERIES

Content: Past Forward Northwest Cultural ServicesDesign & production: Seattle’s Convention and Visitors Bureau

Background image: © Linda Beaumont and Douglas Cooper, King County Courthouse Rotunda 2005, photo by Spike Mafford, courtesy of Public Art 4Culture

African American Cultural Guide, First Edition, 2008.

AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE

Front cover image credits, clockwise: Pastor Patrinell Wright in Black Nativity, photo by Chris Bennion courtesy of Intiman Theatre; Jacob Lawrence Games, photo by Richard Nicol courtesy of Public Art 4Culture; Jimi Hendrix statue, photo courtesy SCVB; Northwest African American Museum, gallery photo by Jack Storms; Young musicians at the Juneteenth Parade, photo by Jack Storms.

Northwest African American Museum. Photos by Jack Storms.

Jack Storms Photo

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Sundiata African American Festival at Seattle Center.Jack Storms Photo

Early African American settlers in the Pacific Northwest included a group of former slaves who had purchased their freedom in the 1850s and settled on Salt Spring Island in British Columbia, and George and Mary Jane Washington who founded the town of Centerville, Washington (now Centralia) in 1875.

The Seattle Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded in 1913, and is one of the oldest chapters west of the Mississippi.

Fraternal organizations including the Prince Hall Masons, the Colored Knights of Pythias and the Black Elks Club have a long history in the Central Area, and the Phyllis Wheatley Branch of the YWCA was established in 1919 to provide social, educational and employment support for women.

The Negro Repertory Company was established in the 1930s as the African American unit of Seattle’s Federal Theatre Project.

The Thelma Dewitty Theater at the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center in West Seattle’s Delridge neighborhood was named for the first African American teacher in the Seattle School District, who began teaching in 1947.

Dancer Syvilla Fort hailed from Seattle, and was the first African American student at Seattle’s Cornish School of the Arts in the 1930s. Fort danced with the Katherine Dunham Company, and later had her own studio where her students included Alvin Ailey, Marlon Brando, and Eartha Kitt.

In 1961, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. made his only visit to Seattle, speaking to an overflow crowd at the national headquarters of the Fraternal Order of Eagles. The restored building is now home to A Contemporary Theatre. A bronze bust of Dr. King by sculptor Jeff Day commemorates King’s visit and is displayed in the Allen Theatre.

Several city parks are named for prominent African Americans:Homer Harris Park at 2401 E Howell Street is named for one of Seattle’s most respected athletes and physicians. Flo Ware Park at 28th Avenue S and S Jackson Street is named for a Central Area activist dedicated to social change.

Powell Barnett Park at 352 Martin Luther King Jr. Way commemorates a pioneering coal miner and community leader. Sam Smith Park at 1400 Martin Luther King Jr. Way S honors the first African American elected to the Seattle City Council.

World War II brought a tremendous increase in the Pacific Northwest’s African American population, as workers seeking well-paying jobs in the shipyards and other defense industries migrated to the region. Seattle’s jazz music scene flourished. Yesler Terrace became the first racially integrated public housing in the nation in 1940, and the following decades brought many “firsts” for Black workers in the fields of industry, nursing, and teaching.

In 1967, Sam Smith became the first African American to serve on the Seattle City Council, and in 1968 an open housing ordinance was finally approved. In recent years, immigrants from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan have established vibrant neighborhoods on First Hill, enriching existing communities and adding new cultural traditions to Seattle’s ethnic heritage.

Black History Month Events – February, Multiple venues Numerous events celebrate Black History Month, including art exhibits, dance performances, and historical displays. www.seattle.gov/blackhistory

Sundiata African American Festival – President’s Day Weekend, February, Seattle CenterPart of the annual Festal cultural celebration at Seattle Center, Festival Sundiata features African and African American cultural traditions including drumming and dance, all kinds of music, visual art, children’s activities and a marketplace for imports and crafts. www.festivalsundiata.org

Langston Hughes African American Film Festival – April Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center, 104 – 17th Avenue S This annual event showcases films from independent Black filmmakers and works about the African American experience. The festival also features panel discussions, screenplay readings and screenings for youth, and the festival committee presents other programming during the year. www.langstonblackfilmfest.org

Juneteenth Freedom Festival & Parade – JuneEdwin T. Pratt Park, 1800 S Main StreetThis annual festival commemorates the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation, marking the end of slavery in America. Enforcement of the proclamation freed Texas slaves on June 19, 1865, and the date was celebrated as Juneteenth or African American Emancipation Day. The Puget Sound area’s first Juneteenth was held on June 19, 1890, when African Americans from Tacoma and Seattle, many of them former slaves, gathered in Kent to celebrate. Seattle’s contemporary festival is sponsored by the Seattle Central Area Chamber of Commerce, and features a parade, speakers, poetry readings, food and entertainment. www.juneteenth.com

Umoja Family Fest African Heritage Festival & Parade – August Judkins Park, 2150 S Norman StreetThis youth-oriented festival entertains, educates and empowers the community, and includes music, dance, fashion shows and other activities. www.umojafamilyfest.com

Central Area Community Festival & Parade – August, Garfield Community Center, 2323 E Cherry StreetA celebration of the cultural diversity of the community, the festival features art and cultural exhibits, games, rides, crafts, merchandise, food and entertainment. www.cacf.com

Earshot Jazz Festival – October and November, Multiple venues Seattle’s major annual jazz festival brings musicians from around the world to Seattle and presents Seattle’s finest jazz artists in a festival setting. Schedule includes performances, workshops, films, exhibitions and educational programs. The festival celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2008. www.earshot.org

Black Nativity – December, Intiman Theatre, 201 Mercer StreetA holiday tradition featuring Pastor Patrinell Wright and the Reverend Dr. Samuel B. McKinney, Black Nativity by Langston Hughes features gospel performances by the Total Experience Gospel Choir and the Black Nativity Choir, modern and traditional choreography performed by an ensemble of dancers, and an on-stage band. www.intiman.org

Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas, Multiple venuesA variety of humanities programs on local issues and performing arts by national artists are offered September through May of each year. CD Forum also produces “Food As Art”, their annual gala showcasing Seattle’s top African-American chefs and restaurateurs. www.cdforum.org

Sunday School Picnic, Seattle, ca. 1917. Courtesy of the Black Heritage Society of Washington

Books documenting Seattle’s African American heritage include Seattle’s Black Victorians and Calabash by Esther Mumford and The Forging of a Black Community by Quintard Taylor. Many additional sites are described in Mary T. Henry’s book Tribute: Seattle Public Places Named for Black People.

Wang Doodle Orchestra, Seattle, ca. 1925. Courtesy of the Black Heritage Society of Washington

Flo Ware Park

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D’Vonne Lewis at Earshot Jazz Festival. Photo by Daniel Sheehan

The Hansberry Project at ACT Theatre – Year-round700 Union Street In partnership with ACT Theatre, the Hansberry Project is a professional Black theatre company dedicated to the artistic exploration of African American life, history and culture.www.acttheatre.org

Jimi Hendrix MemorialGreenwood Memorial Park350 Monroe Avenue NE, Renton 425.255.1511Musician Jimi Hendrix grew up in Seattle’s Central Area, achieving international fame in the 1960s. Following his untimely death, his family created a memorial that has been visited by millions of fans from around the world. Located approximately 40 minutes southeast of Seattle. www.jimihendrixmemorial.com

Naval Memorial Museum of the Pacific402 Pacific Avenue, Bremerton 360.479.7447An hour west of Seattle by ferry, Bremerton is home to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, the Navy’s largest ship repair facility in the Northwest. During World War I and II, thousands of people came from all over the country to work in the shipyards, including many African American men and women, and many Black sailors and enlisted men were stationed at nearby military facilities. www.visitkitsap.com

Community history is preserved and exhibited by the Black Historical Society of Kitsap County at 1204 Park Avenue, 360.479.3608, open by appointment. www.kitsapblackhistory.org

Washington State History Museum1911 Pacific Avenue, Tacoma 888.238.4373Stories of African Americans in Washington are woven into exhibits on the state’s mining industry, early settlement, wartime economy and civil rights. www.washingtonhistory.org

Tacoma Art Museum1701 Pacific Avenue, Tacoma 253.272.4258Permanent and temporary exhibits feature the work of African American artists from the Pacific Northwest and around the country. www.tacomaartmuseum.org

Roslyn Historic DistrictFirst Street & Pennsylvania AvenueThis mining town 1.5 hours east of Seattle played a pivotal role in the region’s ethnic history in 1891, when over one hundred African American miners left the southern U.S and traveled to Roslyn, where they had unknowingly been recruited to work as strike breakers for the Northern Pacific Coal Company. Some of the Black miners left quickly for

other destinations, but many stayed with their families and established strong connections in the community, and Roslyn was the first town in Washington State to elect a Black mayor. Well-preserved commercial and residential districts are walkable, and visitors attractions include the Roslyn History Museum, the Northwest Improvement Company Store building, the 1903 Old City Hall & Library, and the historic Mount Olivet African American cemetery, part of a complex of historic cemeteries. www.cleelumroslyn.org

Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center 104 – 17th Avenue S, 206.684.4757Named in honor of an acclaimed poet of the Harlem Renaissance, this former synagogue now serves as a cultural performing arts center, offering classes, events and programs. In addition, the Center hosts a variety of community arts events including dance, music, theater and film productions such as the Northwest African American Film Festival. www.seattle.gov/parks/centers/langston.htm

James and Janie Washington Foundation 1816 – 26th Avenue, 206.709.4241Renowned sculptor and painter James W. Washington Jr. came to the Seattle area in the 1940s and became associated with the Northwest School of visual artists. The Foundation celebrates Washington’s lifetime works, and shares his vision of universal spirituality through the interpretation of his artwork, and preservation of his studio,

home and garden. Tours are available by appointment. Washington’s public art can also be viewed at several locations in Seattle. www.jameswashington.org

Columbia City Landmark DistrictRainier Avenue S between S Alaska Street and S Hudson StreetColumbia City was established in the 1890s when the Rainier Avenue streetcar line was extended south from downtown Seattle. Housing developments such as Holly Park and Rainier Vista constructed nearby in the 1940s increased the neighborhood’s ethnic diversity. African American entrepreneurs played key roles in Columbia City’s preservation as a landmark district and its revitalization in the late 20th century as a lively urban village. A seasonal farmer’s market, ethnic restaurants, art galleries, the Rainier Valley Cultural Center and the Rainier Valley Historical Society all contribute to the area’s vitality.www.columbiacityseattle.comwww.columbiacityseattle.com

Jimi Hendrix StatueBroadway Avenue E and E Pine StreetMid 2008: 2400 S Massachusetts StreetA bronze sculpture called “The Electric Lady Studio Guitar” by artist Daryl Smith depicts Jimi Hendrix playing a Stratocaster. The statue was located for many years in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, and moves in 2008 to the recently renamed Jimi Hendrix Park next to the Northwest African American Museum in the Central District.

King County Courthouse 516 Third Avenue, 206.296.0135In 1986, the King County Council voted to change the namesake of King County, to commemorate the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., rather than William Rufus DeVane King (Vice President under Franklin Pierce), for whom the county was originally named in 1852. The historic King County Courthouse entry and main lobby were recently restored, and artist Linda Beaumont created a terrazzo and marble floor design titled Truth Crushed To The Earth Will Rise Again which features the 1964 March on Washington. www.4culture.org/publicart

Seattle Art Museum100 University Street, 206.654.3100The Gwendolyn Knight and Jacob Lawrence Gallery honors the legacy of these two renowned artists, and features exhibits highlighting the work of the Lawrences, artists with similar interests, as well as contemporary artists of color. One of the great figurative painters of the 20th century, Lawrence joined the University of Washington School of Art faculty in 1971, and completed many of his later works such as the “Builder’s Series” while living and teaching in Seattle. SAM also has an outstanding African art collection curated by Pam McClusky. www.seattleartmuseum.org

The Museum of Flight 9404 East Marginal Way S, 206.764.5720Long term exhibit The Boeing Story includes experiences of African American men and women workers in Seattle during the World War II era. The Personal Courage Wing features the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the U.S. Army’s first African American pilots, who flew in combat in Italy during WWII.www.museumofflight.org

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The Central District or Central Area has historically been the heart of Seattle’s African American community, and this multi-cultural neighborhood also has connections to Jewish and Asian heritage. East of downtown, the neighborhood encompasses the area between E Madison Street and Interstate 90.

Several small commercial districts developed in the late 19th century along streetcar routes, and many historic landmarks from that era tell the stories of African American community history. The oldest Black church in the Pacific Northwest, the First African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, was established in 1886, and the historic sanctuary at 1522 – 14th Avenue was built in 1912. Mt. Zion Baptist Church was organized in 1894, and the congregation met in many locations before building the African-inspired sanctuary at 1634 – 19th Avenue in 1975.

Other neighborhood landmarks include cultural institutions with a link to African American heritage. The Pratt Fine Arts Center at 1902 S Main Street, and the adjacent Edwin T. Pratt Park are named in honor of the slain civil rights leader who served as Executive Director of the Seattle Urban League from 1961 to 1969. The Douglass – Truth Library at 2300 E Yesler Way, honoring

abolition leaders Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth, holds a significant collection of African-American literature and history. Several private residences associated with Seattle’s African American pioneers and community leaders remain part of the neighborhood, and many of the Heritage Sites featured in this guide are located in the Central Area.

Although the region’s African American population is no longer confined to the Central Area by discriminatory housing policies, the neighborhood retains a strong connection to Black history, and continues to be home to restaurants, stores and other establishments that cater to the Black community.

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© Linda Beaumont and Douglas Cooper, King County Courthouse Rotunda 2005. Photo: Spike Mafford, Public Art 4Culture

Navy officers, Bremerton, ca. 1943, courtesy of Black Heritage Society of Washington

Fort Lawton

MOHAI

Seattle Repertory Theatre

Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI)2700 – 24th Avenue East, 206.324.1126MOHAI’s permanent exhibit Essential Seattle features African American stories and experiences from throughout the city’s 150 year history, including profiles of Black pioneers, artists and defense workers. The Black Heritage Society of Washington’s collection of photographs and archival materials are housed at MOHAI, and can be viewed by appointment. www.seattlehistory.org and www.blackheritagewa.org

Fort Lawton Historic District, Discovery Park3801 W Government Way, 206.386.4236This former army base served as a major point of embarkation for troops during World War II, but its connection to African American heritage goes back to the early 20th century. Starting in 1909, the base was home to the 25th Infantry Regiment, one of four all-Black regiments in the U.S. military. These African American regiments were known as “Buffalo Soldiers,” a name conferred to the troops by Native Americans of the Great Plains. www.seattle.gov/parks/environment/discovparkindex.htm

Jackson Street From 1st Avenue to 23rd AvenueSeattle’s jazz scene thrived from the 1920s to the 1960s at clubs such as the Black & Tan and the Blue Note, where members of Local 493, the Segregated Musicians Union, played to packed houses night after night. Ray Charles, Ernestine Anderson and Quincy Jones got their start in Seattle’s music scene, as well as Floyd Standifer, Patti Bown, Buddy Catlett and other distinguished musicians known locally and nationally. Author Paul de Barros chronicled this era in his book Jackson Street After Hours, and a sign at

12th Avenue and S Jackson Street, today the center of the Little Saigon neighborhood, commemorates Seattle’s jazz history. Venues such as Tula’s, tulas.com; the New Orleans, neworleanscreolerestaurant.com; and Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, jazzalley.com carry on the tradition of those early clubs. Seattle’s Music Map provides an insider’s guide to Seattle’s music history - find it at www.seattle.gov/music/map.

Seattle Repertory Theatre155 Mercer Street, Seattle Center, 206.443.2222Playwright August Wilson presents an unparalleled vision of African American life in his ten-play Century Cycle. Works such as Two Trains Running and King Hedley II were set in Pittsburgh, but several of his plays were written while Wilson resided in Seattle during the last 15 years of his life, where he worked closely with the Seattle Repertory Theatre. Mr. Wilson made his acting debut at the Rep in his 2003 one-man show How I Learned What I Learned, and the street outside the theater was renamed August Wilson Way. www.seattlerep.org

Experience Music Project & Science Fiction Museum325 Fifth Avenue N at Seattle Center, 206.770.2700 Exhibits highlight African Americans and their contributions to music and science fiction, including Northwest Passage, a timeline of Seattle’s music history from the jazz scene on Jackson Street through the early days of the Seattle hip hop scene, Sound and Vision: Artists Tell their Stories, an exhibit with oral histories from music and science fiction greats, and artifacts associated with Jimi Hendrix. www.empsfm.org

Jacob Lawrence “The Studio” 1977, courtesy of Seattle Art Museum

Ernestine Anderson, courtesy of the Black Heritage Society of Washington State

Courtesy of the Black Heritage Society of Washington State

Douglass–Truth Library

Ellensburg Public Library Photo

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and Park2200 Martin Luther King Jr. Way

Sculptor Robert Kelly created the park’s black granite monument, which was inspired by King’s “I’ve Been To The Mountaintop” speech given in Memphis the day before he was assassinated in 1968. www.seattle.gov/parks/parkspaces/mlk.htm

Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center

Courtesy of the James & Janie Washington

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Courtesy of the Black Heritage Society of Washington State

Courtesy of Anthony Powell

Photo by Chris Bennion

Experience Music Project

King County Courthouse

Seattle Art Museum

Jimi Hendrix Statue

Langston Hughes PAC

Museum of Flight

Jackson Street

Columbia City Landmark District

NW African American Museum

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial

James Washington Foundation

Northwest African American Museum2300 S Massachusetts Street, 206.518.6000After years of planning and development, the Northwest African American Museum is now open in the historic Colman School in Seattle’s Central Area. The Museum features regional history, visual arts, crafts, music, literary and culinary culture of African Americans in the Northwest and beyond. www.naamnw.org

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WWII “Rosies” courtesy of the Museum of Flight

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Homer Harris Park artwork

Northwest African American Museum. Photo: Jack Storms