New Additions to our Black Culture and History Collection

Shelf Talk

Apr 28

In July 2022, the Library began work on a Digital Heritage Grant funded by the Washington State Library to increase the availability of historic digitized materials in our Black Culture and History Collection. This month, we are wrapping up work on the grant and are excited to share some of our new additions!

Thanks to the grant, we were able to add nearly 300 new items and digitize over 1,000 pages of materials which span from the early pioneer days of Washington Territory, World War I, and the Civil Rights Era.

Equality Now! protest sign created by Seattle CORE members, ca. 1964

Selections from the Maid Adams Congress on Racial Equality (CORE), Seattle Chapter Collection: This collection contains materials gathered by CORE member Jean "Maid" Adams. Materials include documents and ephemera related to CORE's Equal Employment and Crosstown Bus Campaigns; issues of the Corelator newsletter; and hand-painted protest signs and posters used by the group at local demonstrations and events. In addition to the CORE materials, there are also items from other local groups such as the Central Area Motivation Project (CAMP) and national groups such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.

Rev. Samuel McKinney at Mt. Zion Baptist Church groundbreaking ceremony, April 29, 1962

Selections from the Reverend Samuel McKinney Collection: Samuel McKinney (1926-2018) was pastor of Mt. Zion Baptist Church and a major leader in Seattle's civil rights movement. McKinney served as the pastor at Mt. Zion, one of Seattle's oldest and most prominent Black churches, for over 40 years. The collection includes biographical materials for Samuel McKinney and his family, as well as Mt. Zion event ephemera and photographs.

Seattle Urban League Annual Report, 1950

Seattle Urban League Materials: The Seattle Urban League was started in 1929 with the goal of improving lives in the Black community and other communities of color. Our materials include newsletters, annual reports, and other publications spanning from 1944 to 1978. They cover important discussions, topics and initiatives following World War II and through the civil rights era including race relations, open housing, and school desegregation.

LeEtta Sanders King in Red Cross uniform, ca. 1918

LeEtta Sanders King Collection: This small collection includes materials from LeEtta Sanders King, who moved to Seattle at the age of 17 in 1910, a time when the city had only a small number of Black residents. She worked as a legal secretary and later a music teacher and was active in the Red Cross during World War I. Her son, Winfield King, was a bandleader and an active member in the Negro Musicians Union. The collection includes photos, correspondence, and other ephemera relating to both LeEtta and Winfield.

We also digitized a selection of miscellaneous materials from the Seattle Room collections including selections from Seattle Magazine, a 1977 survey of the Central District, and an 1855 House of Representatives report asking Black pioneer George Bush to be granted the title to the land he had homesteaded. A special request was needed because the law, as written, did not permit Black men to claim land.

Even though the grant work is now ended, we will be continuing to add to this collection as we are able to digitize new materials.

~ Posted by Jade D.