Lydia Teresa Sims, civic and civil rights leader in Spokane, Washington, was born November 18, 1920, in Penn’s Grove, New Jersey, to Clifton and Helen Elvira Williams. Lydia’s family, including her five sisters, lived most of their childhood in Summit, New Jersey. Lydia graduated from … Read MoreLydia Teresa Sims (1920–2012)
Born January 25, 1959 in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo, Jean-Léonard Touadi, one of 10 children of a civil servant, immigrated to Italy in 1979 where he became a journalist, university lecturer, the author of several books, and a pioneering politician. A devout Roman Catholic … Read MoreJean-Léonard Touadi (1959- )
Former State Senator and Representative for Washington’s 26th District, William “Bill” Smitherman was born on July 31, 1943. He grew up in Lakewood and graduated from Clover Park High School in 1962. He and his wife Karen, a retired Tacoma public school teacher and administrator, … Read MoreWilliam Smitherman (1943- )
Vivian Leona Caver was a civil rights activist from Seattle, Washington. She directed the Seattle Human Rights Commission between 1975 and 1981, and served briefly in the Washington State Legislature in 1994. Caver was born Vivian Leona Mead in 1928, in Jackson, Tennessee. Her mother … Read MoreVivian Leona Caver (1928-2021)
Dorothy Hollingsworth, a prominent educator and politician, achieved a number of “firsts” during her years in Seattle. The most important was becoming the first Black woman in Washington State’s history to serve on a school board. Born in Bishopville, South Carolina on October 29, 1920, … Read MoreDorothy Hollingsworth (1920-2022)
