Black Arts/West was Seattle's first Black theater and functioned as a three component program: theater, dance, and an art gallery displaying the work of local and national artists. Founded by Douglas Q. Barnett (1931-2019) in 1969, Black Arts/West evolved out of the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. As a division of the Central Area Motivation Program (CAMP), an anti-poverty agency, it was charged with getting young people involved and learning the necessary skills to survive and flourish in society. Although the group disbanded in 1980, it was an integral part of a movement that created many of the region's professional and semi-professional arts organizations.
In March 1973, Black Arts/West produced the play "Black Girl" by J.E. Franklin. At the time, the organization was trying to raise $40,000 in donations in order to keep running in anticipation of funding cutbacks, and used attendance at the play to encourage donations. Here, (left to right) Evan Aaron, Shirley Marshall, and Gary Gayton socialize at a gathering before the preview performance of "Black Girl."
Gary Gayton (b. 1933) has a long history of fighting for civil rights; he was the first African-American student-body president at Garfield High School in Seattle, Washington, and he was the first African-American captain of a varsity sports team at the University of Washington. After graduating from law school, Gayton served as assistant U.S. attorney under Robert F. Kennedy, and went on to found his own law firm in Seattle that fought for civil rights.
Caption information source: "Black Girl Preview Seeks Lifeline for Black Theater" by Susan Paynter, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, March 25, 1973, p. C8 Caption information source: "Black Arts/West, Part 1, A History by Douglas Q. Barnett," by Douglas Q. Barnett, HistoryLink.org Essay 3921 Biography of Gary Gayton written by University of Washington staff, retrieved at https://www.polisci.washington.edu/people/gary-d-gayton#:
