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 a sign over the doors to the Colman School reading "African American Museum," shortly after the beginning of the occupation in 1985. A tricolor flag hangs above the sign.

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