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- )
In the following article University of Washington, Tacoma student Kayomi Wada describes how she and other Tacoma residents banded together to create a local project that reflects President Barack Obama’s Call to Service. As a fourth-generation Japanese American, whose family made their living in the New … Read MoreBarack Obama’s Call to Service: One Woman Responds
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- )
Eric Pettigrew is the current Washington State Representative for the 37th Legislative District representing Southeast Seattle, Washington and its suburbs. Representative Pettigrew grew up in South Central Los Angeles. After graduating from Nogales High School in the City of Industry, California, he enrolled in Oregon … Read MoreEric Pettigrew (1960- )
In 2006 Sophia Danenberg became the first African American and first black woman from anywhere in the world to climb the highest mountain in the world, Mount Everest in the Himalayas (Nepal). Sophia Marie Scott was born in 1972 in Homewood, Illinois (a southern suburb … Read MoreSophia Danenberg (1972- )
James Edward Shepperson is considered one of the most influential leaders and spokesmen among Black miners in Washington during the late 19th century and early 20th centuries. Shepperson was born in Roanoke, Virginia in 1858. In the 1870 census, he was listed living with his … Read MoreJames Edward Shepperson (1858-1934)
Clarence Eugene Page is a newspaper columnist, essayist, and political analyst. His syndicated column which specializes in urban issues appears in numerous newspapers across the United States. Page was born on June 2, 1947 in Dayton, Ohio to Clarence H. and Maggie (Williams) Page. Page’s … Read MoreClarence E. Page (1947- )
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- )
In 1969, Walter Hundley, director of the Seattle Model Cities Program, encouraged local black independent contractors to organize in an effort to gain lucrative building construction contracts that required minority participation. When the contractors responded, they selected Tyree Scott, an electrician, as their leader. They … Read MoreCentral Contractors Association
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)
