Samuel J. Smith, a Washington State Legislator and Seattle City Councilmember was born on July 21, 1922, in Gibsland, Louisiana. Listening to speeches by Franklin Roosevelt broadcast on radio in the early 1930s persuaded young Smith that he wanted a future in politics. Sam Smith … Read MoreSamuel J. Smith (1922-1995)
Ralph Hayes grew up poor in rural, segregated Cairo, Illinois, the fourth of twelve children. He studied journalism at Northwestern University and then transferred to the University of Washington, where he earned his B.A. and M.A. degrees in political science. In 1950 he married Elaine … Read MoreRalph Hayes (1922-1999)
Powell S. Barnett was a child when his father arrived in Roslyn to work in the coal mines. Seeing no future in mining, Powell left for Seattle in 1906, and quickly found work. Years later, after working in construction and for hotels, he served as a clerk for State … Read MorePowell S. Barnett (1883-1971)
Philip Burton was a Seattle lawyer for more than 40 years, a voice for the disadvantaged, and a fighter for reforms to end discrimination in education, housing and employment. His legal actions led to the desegregation of Seattle Public Schools. Fighting for civil rights was … Read MorePhillip Burton (1915-1995)
Prominent social and civic leader in African American Seattle, Washington, Meredith Mathews was born in Thomaston, Georgia on September 14, 1919. He attended public schools in Georgia and then moved to Ohio for college. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Wilberforce University in … Read MoreMeredith Mathews (1919-1992)
Mel Streeter was born in Riverside, California in 1931. He attended the University of Oregon on a basketball scholarship and was the second African-American basketball player at Oregon after declining an offer by legendary basketball coach John Wooden to attend UCLA, because UCLA did not … Read MoreMel Streeter (1931-2006)
Kenneth S. Washington was one of the first black college football stars on the West Coast and one of two African Americans to reintegrate the National Football League (NFL) when he joined the Los Angeles Rams in 1946. His stardom as a running back began … Read MoreKenneth S. [“Kenny”] Washington (1918-1971)
Born in Jefferson City, Missouri, in 1863, Joseph Blackburn Bass made his mark in the newspaper business in Kansas, Montana, and California. After teaching school during the 1890s, Bass took over ownership of the Topeka Call in 1896, where he had worked for two years … Read MoreJoseph Blackburn Bass (1863-1934)
The painter and sculptor James Washington, Jr. was a leading member of the Northwest School, a group of artists, writers, and sculptors who became internationally prominent in the mid-20th Century. Washington was born on November 10, 1908 and raised in Gloster, Mississippi, one of six … Read MoreJames Washington, Jr. (1908-2000)
The daguerreotypist James Presley (J.P.) Ball was born in 1825 in Virginia, probably a freeman. As a young man he learned daguerreotyping and opened his first studio in Cincinnati, Ohio at age twenty. The city was a center for anti-slavery activity as well as the … Read MoreJames Presley Ball (1825-1904)
