Central Area Motivation Program (1964- )

In the spring of 1964, before Congress passed the Economic Opportunity Act, a group of Central Area residents and friends created a comprehensive anti-poverty proposal which was presented in the autumn of 1964 at a mass meeting called by the Seattle Urban League and the … Read MoreCentral Area Motivation Program (1964- )

Calvary Baptist Church, Spokane, Washington (1890- )

Early in 1890, in Spokane, Washington, a small group of African American citizens gathered “to consider the propriety of organizing a church.”  The name Calvary Baptist Church was adopted, and thus was founded the city’s first historically black church.  Its founding transcended race and gender, … Read MoreCalvary Baptist Church, Spokane, Washington (1890- )

Booker Washington in Seattle, 1913

An unusual incidence of interracial solidarity between blacks and Asian Americans occurred during Booker T. Washington’s visit to Seattle. In March 1913, Washington embarked on a national speaking tour in order to raise money for Tuskegee Institute, the chronically underfunded “Normal and Industrial School” in … Read MoreBooker Washington in Seattle, 1913

Blanche Sellers Lavizzo (1925-1984)

Dr. Blanche Sellers Lavizzo was the first African American woman pediatrician in the state of Washington.  She arrived in Seattle in 1956, with her husband Dr. Philip Lavizzo, a general surgeon.   They had left medical practices in New Orleans, Louisiana to pursue a better future … Read MoreBlanche Sellers Lavizzo (1925-1984)

Black Soldiers at Fort Huachuca, Arizona During World War II

Before 1941 about 4,000 black soldiers (and a handful of African American officers) served in the 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments (the “Buffalo Soldiers”), two of the all-black units formed after the Civil War.  Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, the number of … Read MoreBlack Soldiers at Fort Huachuca, Arizona During World War II

Black Arts/West (1969-1980)

Black Arts/West was Seattle’s first black theatre, eventually became a nationally-known entity across the United States. Evolving out of the Civil Rights-Black Power movements of the 1960s, it was founded by Douglas Q. Barnett in 1969. Black Arts/West functioned as a three component program: theatre, … Read MoreBlack Arts/West (1969-1980)