Lembhard G. Howell is a prominent Seattle attorney practicing in Seattle since 1966. Howell’s career has been dedicated to seeking justice for individuals who have been injured and unfairly treated. Howell was the first African American to serve on the board of governors of the … Read MoreLembhard Goldstone Howell (1936- )
Born on December 28, 1926 to Reverend Wade Hampton McKinney and Ruth Berry McKinney in Flint, Michigan, Samuel Berry McKinney would become a Baptist minister, author, and civil rights advocate in Seattle, Washington. He served as pastor of Mount Zion Baptist Church, one of the … Read MoreSamuel Berry McKinney (1926-2018)
During its brief and rocky tenure from 1918 to 1924, pianist Gertrude Harvey Wright was one of four women in Seattle’s first black musicians’ union, the American Federation of Musicians’ Local 458. Wright, Virginia Hughes, a “Mrs. Austin,” and (Edythe) “Turnham,” all worked with their … Read MoreRace, Gender, Jazz & Local 493: Black Women Musicians in Seattle: 1920-1955
Franklin D. Burgess’s remarkable life as a star basketball player at Gonzaga University and a Federal Judge in Western Washington earned him the description “a legend on two courts.” Franklin Burgess was born on March 9, 1935 in Eudora, Arkansas. Raised with seven siblings, he … Read MoreFranklin D. Burgess (1935-2010)
When thirty-year-old Katie Barton followed her husband to the small town of Pasco in Washington State in 1948, she did not foresee that she would embark on a life of fighting for black equality and serving her community, nor did she envision becoming the first … Read MoreKatie D. Morgan Barton (1918-2010)
William H. Wilson established The Northwest Enterprise, a Seattle, Washington weekly newspaper for the African American community, in 1920 and continued to be its editor until 1935. He also served as a board member of Seattle’s chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of … Read MoreWilliam H. Wilson (?-?)
In 1966, Huey Newton and Bobby Seale created the Black Panther Party for Self Defense to address police oppression of blacks in Oakland, California. Because community members also turned to the Panthers for help with economic and social problems like job discrimination and evictions, the Panthers started community services in 1969 … Read MoreBlack Panther Party’s Free Breakfast Program (1969-1980)
In the following account John C. Hughes, chief oral historian for the Washington State Legacy Project, discusses the life and legacy of Lillian Walker, who has been a civil rights activist in Bremerton, Washington, since World War II. Established in 2008 by Washington Secretary of … Read MoreFighting for Racial Justice in the Pacific Northwest: Lillian Walker and the Long Struggle for Civil Rights
Janie Rogella Washington was the wife of James W. Washington, Jr. (1911-2000), an internationally-known Northwest artist. A Seattle nurse, she shared and inspired the spirituality that shaped his art. One of 12 children, Janie Rogella Miller was born near Henderson, Texas to Freeman Miller and … Read MoreJanie Rogella Washington (1908-2000)
In 2000 Kathleen Brose led an organization called Parents Involved in Community Schools which filed a lawsuit against the Seattle School District, challenging its “tie-breaker” rule in Seattle Public Schools which gave preference to racial minorities in school assignments when all else was equal. The … Read MoreThe Tie Breaker Ruling in Perspective: A Plaintiff Looks Back on the Historic U.S. Supreme Court Decision of 2007
