With few exceptions, the ROOTS (Relatives of Old Times in Seattle) family picnic has been held annually since the early 1970s, bringing together an average of 1000 people from Seattle’s Black community each year. The picnic also serves as a homecoming, with families who have relocated over the years coming back for the event. Attendees enjoy sharing food, listening to music, and visiting and reminiscing with old friends and family. The 2022 ROOTS picnic marked the event’s 50th anniversary. Here, a small group dances together at the 1990 ROOTS family picnic.


MOHAI’s 2022 Curator’s Fellow Brittney Frantece explored the photographs in the Al Smith Collection for how they demonstrate Black worldbuilding in Seattle. Looking at this photograph, Frantece offered the following analysis:

Going through Al Smith’s archives, it’s obvious that he was a fan of socializing with community, friends, and family. Smith was a regular at the annual ROOTS Family picnic. This annual get-together served as a way for Seattle’s Black communities to commune and celebrate each other. Trends in migration caused more Black people to come to Seattle during the mid-to-late 20th century. Newcomers searched for a new Black community to join and ROOTS was a way for Black families who have been here for a while to connect with those who just arrived.

Smith captured the liveliness and fun of community joy that was abundant at the ROOTS family picnic, as seen here in this 4x6” color photograph of people dancing, 1990. It appears they are doing the “electric slide.” The power of Black people building worlds together is that these worlds can transcend the gravity of sticking to a location. Yes, Black American communities are different depending on geographical location; however, there are cultural behaviors, like dancing the “electric slide,” that don’t adhere to a strict location. This makes such cultural behaviors a connection point to build Black communities and worlds across geographical locations. As we can see in these photographs, ROOTS is a great time to experience Black community, belonging, and fun. Smith captures the moments when we can see people experiencing each other and relating to one another.

Caption information source: "ROOTS family picnic," from the The Breakfast Group website, retrieved at http://www.thebreakfastgroup.org/roots-family-picnic