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.

This image shows Charlie James standing in front of the Colman School in December 1985, shortly after the occupation began. James is a longtime activist who has worked on Senate campaigns, for the Democratic Central Committee, and helped found the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Park.

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: "The complete history of Seattle's newest museum," by Charlie James, Seattle Times, March 20, 2008, retrieved from https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=20080320&slug=charliejames20