Barbara Johns, Author at

Independent Historian

Barbara Johns is an art historian, curator, and author, who did doctoral studies at the University of Washington, Seattle. She is the former Chief Curator of the Tacoma Art Museum, where she was committed to a program of inclusion. Since working independently, she served as an advisor to the Northwest African American Museum during its formation and continues to assist in exhibition planning. Most recently she was the curator of an exhibition Tacoma’s Civil Rights Struggle: African Americans Leading the Way at the Washington State History Museum in 2008.

Thomas Dixon (1931- )

Thomas Dixon, born in Sparta, Georgia, on March 28, 1931, was the founding director of the Tacoma Urban League and one of Tacoma’s civil rights leaders during the 1960s and 1970s. Having spent his professional life in Tacoma, Dixon nonetheless retains a deep connection to … Read MoreThomas Dixon (1931- )

Isaac Morrow (1940- )

Isaac Morrow, a former foreman at the Port of Tacoma, introduced the concept of on-dock intermodal shipping, which raised the port to national leadership and revolutionized the long shore industry. Morrow is a member of Tacoma’s Local No. 23 of the International Longshore and Warehouse … Read MoreIsaac Morrow (1940- )

Mother’s Day Disturbance, 1969

The Mother’s Day Disturbance of May 11, 1969, also called the Mother’s Day Riot, is viewed by many as the turning point in Tacoma, Washington’s civil rights struggle. While Tacoma in the 1960s did not experience the violence that enflamed many northern cities, the Mother’s … Read MoreMother’s Day Disturbance, 1969

James L. Walton (1939- )

James L. Walton is Tacoma, Washington’s first black city manager. Born in Dallas, the youngest of five children, he grew up in the small Texas town of Mineola. After high school graduation in 1959, he followed his brother, Willie Brown, who would become a prominent … Read MoreJames L. Walton (1939- )

The Black Collective, Tacoma, Washington (1970- )

Arising out of Tacoma, Washington’s civil rights struggle in the 1960s, the Black Collective is a volunteer leadership organization engaged in addressing issues affecting the black community of Tacoma and Pierce County. The Black Collective began as the Concerned Black Citizens in the immediate aftermath … Read MoreThe Black Collective, Tacoma, Washington (1970- )

Lyle Quasim (1943- )

Lyle Quasim, born Lyle Rogers in Chicago in 1943, has held leadership positions in public health and administration in Tacoma, Pierce County, and the state of Washington. In 1995 he became the first African American to head Washington’s Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS). … Read MoreLyle Quasim (1943- )