In 1985, a group of Black activists led by Charlie James, Earl Debnam, Omari Tahir-Garrett, and Michael Greenwood began occupying the abandoned Colman School in the Central Area in order to pressure the city to renovate it into a museum of African-American history. Despite the building's lack of heat and running water, the occupiers stayed for eight years, making this the longest act of civil disobedience in US history. The museum's leadership fractured after the occupation, the original activists clashing with businesspeople who they feared wanted to take over the project and reduce focus on programs and resources for the Black community. Eventually, the original activists were voted off the museum's board and in 2003 the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle purchased the Colman School and converted it into a museum and an affordable housing block. The Northwest African American Museum (NAAM) opened in the Colman School building in 2008. Earl Debnam did not attend the opening of NAAM.

This photo shows Earl Debnam outside the Colman School building, where he still lived, in 1990. Debnam, an artist, moved to Seattle in 1976 and studied painting under Jacob Lawrence at the University of Washington. As of 2022, Debnam still resides in Seattle's Central District and continues to paint, often portraying African American leaders, community members, and family.

Caption information source: "Divided it stands," by Juliette Guilbert, Seattle Met, December 19, 2008, retrieved from https://www.seattlemet.com/arts-and-culture/2008/12/1008-feat-divided
Caption information source: "Beyond the NAAM," by Tyrah Hannibal, ScholarWorks@SeattleU, retrieved from https://scholarworks.seattleu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=northwest-african-american-museum
Caption information source: "An exhibit of rancor at museum," by Jerry Large, Seattle Times, March 13, 2008, page B1.
Caption information source: 4Culture.org website at https://www.4culture.org/arc_fellow/earl-debnam/