Willie C. Stewart Sr. became Tacoma’s first Black school principal at Lincoln High School on June 25, 1970. Stewart’s appointment by School Superintendent Angelo Giaudrone, considered truly historic at the time, was but one of many achievements of this notable educator. Stewart was born on … Read MoreWillie C. Stewart Sr (1935- )
Addie Fletcher Booth was an educator, civil rights activist, and labor organizer. She was born Addie De Vault on October 29, 1902 in Independence, Texas to Reuben and Anis Gee De Vault. Although very little is known of her early life, she enrolled in Prairie … Read MoreAddie Fletcher Booth (1902-1996)
Carolyn J. Purnell, a 1971 graduate of the University of Washington’s School of Law, is one of two women who are the first Black women known to have graduated from that institution (Gwendolyn Howard is the other). William McDonald Austin, the first Black man, graduated … Read MoreCarolyn Purnell (1939- )
Shirley Mahaley Malcom, a Senior Advisor and Director of SEA Change at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and publisher of the Science family of journals, was born on September 6, 1946, in Birmingham, Alabama to Ben Mahaley and Lillie Funderburg Mahaley. … Read MoreShirley Mahaley Malcom (1946- )
Dr. Dolores Irene Silas was a person of many Tacoma, Washington “firsts”–the first woman of color to become a school principal at DeLong Elementary School (1970), the first to become a member of the City Council (1991), the first to be Deputy Mayor (1995) and … Read MoreDolores Irene Silas (1926-2021)
Victoria Renee Woodards was elected Tacoma, Washington’s 39th mayor on November 7th, 2017 and thus became the second woman of color to hold the position. Woodards followed Marilyn Strickland who served as mayor from 2010-2017. Woodards was born on July 19, 1965 in Riverside, California … Read MoreVictoria Renee Woodards (1965- )
Law professor and legal activist Henry W. “Hank” McGee, Jr. was born in Chicago, Illinois, on December 31, 1932, to Henry W. McGee, Sr., from Hillsboro, Texas, the first African American Postmaster appointed by U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, and Attye Belle Truesdale McGee, from … Read MoreHenry W. “Hank” McGee, Jr. (1932- )
Moeketsi Majoro, an economist and politician and former Prime Minister of Lesotho, was born on November 3, 1961, in Leribe, Lesotho. Majoro is married to Masekoalane Mamusa Rankhelepe. They are the parents of two children. Majoro received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from … Read MoreMoeketsi Majoro
(1961- )
Nicholas (“Nick”) Brown is the first African American to serve as United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington. Born in San Francisco to a career military officer, Brown also lived in Augsburg, Germany as a child. He attended high school in Steilacoom, Washington, … Read MoreNicholas W. Brown (1977- )
