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Explore stories in Northwest history through highlights from MOHAI’s collections. Search by keyword below or browse the entire online collection by entering the asterisk symbol (*). Filter your search by type of materials.

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1183 results for: Black/African American

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Image of Shirley Parker performing at Langston Hughes Cultural Arts Center, Seattle, December 20, 1982
Photograph

Shirley Parker performing at Langston Hughes Cultural Arts Center, Seattle, December 20, 1982

In 1969, the City of Seattle used federal Model Cities funds to purchase a building for use as a community center, the Chevra Bikur Cholim Synagogue, which was designed in 1915 by B. Marcus Priteca (1889-1971) and located at 104 17th Avenue South in the Central District neighborhood. In 1971 the building became the home of what is now known…
ID Number:2000.107.138.12.01
Date:1982
Image of Won Ldy Paye with students at McGilvra Elementary School, February 19, 1988
Photograph

Won Ldy Paye with students at McGilvra Elementary School, February 19, 1988

Won-Ldy Paye is a storyteller, dancer, drummer, and artist from Tapita, Liberia. He was trained by his grandmother to remember and retell the stories of the Dan people of northeastern Liberia, and is a member of the Tlo Ker Mehn, the class of professional Dan entertainers who are keepers of the oral tradition. Paye immigrated to the US in 1990…
ID Number:2000.107.139.04.01
Date:1988
Image of Won Ldy Paye teaching African music to fourth grade students, Seattle, February 19, 1988
Photograph

Won Ldy Paye teaching African music to fourth grade students, Seattle, February 19, 1988

Won-Ldy Paye is a storyteller, dancer, drummer, and artist from Tapita, Liberia. He was trained by his grandmother to remember and retell the stories of the Dan people of northeastern Liberia, and is a member of the Tlo Ker Mehn, the class of professional Dan entertainers who are keepers of the oral tradition. Paye immigrated to the US in 1990…
ID Number:2000.107.139.04.02
Date:1988
Image of Gary Payton passing basketball in game against Celtics, Seattle, December 29, 1992
Photograph

Gary Payton passing basketball in game against Celtics, Seattle, December 29, 1992

Gary Payton (b. 1968) is a retired professional basketball player who played for the Seattle SuperSonics from 1990 to 2003. Payton played point guard and was nicknamed “the Glove” for his success on defense, especially with steals. Payton led the NBA in steals for the 1995-96 season, with 231. In the 1999-2000 season, he led the league in both assists…
ID Number:2000.107.139.08.01
Date:1992
Image of Supporters for clemency for Don White holding picket signs, Olympia, March 23, 1964
Photograph

Supporters for clemency for Don White holding picket signs, Olympia, March 23, 1964

Don Anthony White, a Black man convicted of murdering two people in Seattle in 1959, was sentenced to death on July 18, 1960, by the King County Superior Court. A series of demonstrations supporting clemency for Mr. White led to a retrial in 1966 where he was again found guilty as charged and was sentenced to serve two concurrent terms…
ID Number:2000.107.141.13.02
Date:1964
Image of Supporters of school integration picketing outside Seattle Public School offices, Seattle, May 12, 1965
Photograph

Supporters of school integration picketing outside Seattle Public School offices, Seattle, May 12, 1965

Throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s, various civil rights groups in Seattle unsuccessfully tried to persuade a predominately white school board to address the issues of desegregation of the Seattle Public Schools. The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) felt that most of the educational deficiencies among the bulk…
ID Number:2000.107.141.13.03
Date:1965
Image of Picketers protesting discriminatory loan practices at Liberty Bank, Seattle, February 15, 1972
Photograph

Picketers protesting discriminatory loan practices at Liberty Bank, Seattle, February 15, 1972

In response to urban problems of poverty and race in the United States, in November 1966 Congress initiated the Model Cities Program. The program's objectives were to reduce social and economic disadvantages in designated neighborhoods, provide training and employment opportunities, and establish health services for residents. Financial and technical assistance was made available to cities through the Department of Housing…
ID Number:2000.107.141.14.01
Date:1972
Image of Black Arts/West actors rehearsing
Photograph

Black Arts/West actors rehearsing "The River Niger," Seattle, June 4, 1974

Black Arts/West was Seattle’s first black theatre and functioned as a three component program: theatre, dance, and an art gallery displaying the work of local and national artists. Founded by Douglas Q. Barnett (1931-) in 1969, Black Arts/West evolved out of the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s and was charged with getting young people involved and learning the necessary…
ID Number:2000.107.142.33.01
Date:1974
Image of Steve Pool at KOMO News studio, Seattle, January 1981
Photograph

Steve Pool at KOMO News studio, Seattle, January 1981

Steve Pool (1953-2023) was the longtime chief weather forecaster for KOMO 4 News. He graduated from Tyee High School and began working at KOMO as an intern while still attending the University of Washington. Pool’s first jobs at KOMO were reporting news and sports, and in 1984, he was promoted to chief meteorologist, becoming one of the first Black forecasters…
ID Number:2000.107.145.26.01
Date:1981
Image of Edwin Pratt, Robert Williams, and James McIver at
Photograph

Edwin Pratt, Robert Williams, and James McIver at "Sunday of Concern" meeting, November 11, 1968

At monthly "Sunday of Concern" meetings, representatives of 40 Central Area organizations got together to discuss problems in the district. In this photograph (left to right) Edwin T. Pratt, Executive Director of the Seattle Urban League; Robert Williams, intergroup relations specialist at Seattle Public Schools; and James McIver, head of the Loren Miller Bar Club, an organization for Black attorneys,…
ID Number:2000.107.146.25.01
Date:1968
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