By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
The City of Seattle honored Rev. Dr. Robert L. Manaway Sr. on Sunday with the unveiling of honorary street signs outside Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church, recognizing more than four decades of his spiritual leadership, community service and advocacy in Seattle’s Central District.
The new signs designate the block of South Jackson Street between 28th and 29th avenues South as “Dr. RL Manaway, Sr. Way,” honoring Manaway’s decades of service both inside and beyond the church through programs addressing food insecurity, housing assistance, counseling, re-entry services, youth development and support for vulnerable families.
Standing beneath the newly unveiled street signs outside Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church, Manaway embraced family members, elected officials, clergy, longtime parishioners and community supporters as applause echoed through the Central District in celebration of a ministry that has helped shape the neighborhood for more than 40 years.
The Seattle City Council unanimously approved the honorary street designation earlier this year, recognizing not only Manaway’s pastoral leadership but also his decades of advocacy for education, housing, economic opportunity and neighborhood stability. During council deliberations, Councilmember Rob Saka described the legislation as a fitting tribute to a leader whose influence extends far beyond his congregation.
Although honorary street designations do not change mailing addresses or official street names, they serve as permanent public recognition reserved for individuals whose civic and cultural contributions have left a lasting impact on Seattle.
Seattle City Council President Joy Hollingsworth said the recognition also reflects the importance of preserving institutions and leaders who have helped define Seattle’s historically Black neighborhoods.
“As we are continuing to build our city and our neighborhoods are changing and shifting, words matter. These cultural places matter to folks,” said Hollingsworth.
When Manaway became senior pastor of Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church in September 1983, the congregation numbered about 125 members. Over the next four decades, it grew to more than 1,700 members while expanding its mission far beyond Sunday worship.
Under his leadership, Tabernacle became one of the Central District’s leading faith-based institutions, providing food assistance, housing support, family counseling, youth programs, partnerships serving unhoused residents and re-entry services for people rebuilding their lives after incarceration.
Founded in 1950, Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church has long served as a spiritual and cultural cornerstone of Seattle’s Black community, particularly during decades of dramatic change in the Central District. Community leaders credit Manaway with strengthening that legacy while helping the church evolve to meet the neighborhood’s changing needs.
Born in Picayune, Mississippi, and raised in Hattiesburg alongside six siblings, Manaway never imagined his life’s work would begin behind a pulpit.
“What I wanted to be was a high school band director. That’s what I wanted to be, sir. I love Friday Night Lights, if you just give me August to December, I’m in heaven on earth,” recalled Manaway.
Instead, he answered what he describes as a call to ministry, accepting his first pastorate at age 19 at Pleasant Ridge Missionary Baptist Church in Ellisville, Mississippi. After serving there for six years, he and his wife, Jessica Perine Manaway, moved to Seattle in 1983.
The couple, who married on Jessica’s 21st birthday in 1981, recently celebrated 45 years of marriage. Together they raised five children, and their family has since grown to include 13 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Throughout his ministry, Manaway pursued advanced theological and educational studies, earning graduate and doctoral degrees while obtaining counseling certifications that reflected his belief that churches should address both spiritual and practical needs within their communities.
“I want the African American church to be as efficient in training and teaching as we are in worship and praise, so that we can have certificated and licensed chemical dependency and mental health counseling, early childhood development, and Montessori schools,” said Manaway.
The effort to secure the honorary street designation began in 2018 when the pastor’s youngest daughter, Bria (Robin) Manaway, launched what became an eight-year effort that continued through city administration changes, countless follow-up conversations and dozens of emails before Sunday’s unveiling finally became reality.
“Many years my father spent on this block, whether he was missing games, family dinners, first day of schools, or recitals, being on this block making sure that the community and families were okay. I feel like this is very deserving and fitting. I’m glad my father is alive and well to be able to enjoy and feel this moment,” said Bria Manaway.
For First Lady Jessica Perine Manaway, the ceremony represented the fulfillment of something far greater than she imagined more than four decades ago.
“When we first came 43 years ago, they thought my husband wouldn’t be here long enough, so they wouldn’t put his name on the church van. For 43 years, personally, it bothered me. But when my daughter shared this, God let me know that 43 years ago, it wasn’t time for his name to be on a van because He had something better.
“Where a van is only seasonal, God said, ‘I have something that will last throughout generations.’ We’ll never forget what his name is now because it’s on the street.”
Joseph Manaway, the pastor’s youngest son, senior pastoral assistant at Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church and director of fund development at the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, said the recognition reflects a lifetime devoted to serving others.
“Being his son, I’ve gotten for the last 37 years an upfront view of just how much he cares about people, period. To be able to see that he’s honored by the City of Seattle speaks to legacy. To be able to bear his name is a high honor, and it’s a credit to the work he’s done,” said Joseph Manaway.
Community leader Lewis Rudd said the honorary street naming celebrates more than one individual. It recognizes decades of investment in the people and institutions that have sustained the Central District.
“I’m thinking right now how blessed the community is to have a person, a pastor in Pastor Manaway, that has invested so much into ensuring that the community remains a community. I’m here feeling honored to just be a part of this great celebration,” said Rudd.
Although Sunday’s ceremony celebrated Manaway’s past accomplishments, Manaway said the recognition also brings a renewed sense of responsibility.
“I’m still in awe. I’m still very humbled by the conferment, it frightens me to the bone, just the weight of responsibility and honoring the trust that so many people place in you. How do I use this platform now with name recognition to advocate for vulnerable populations, for homelessness, unemployment, income, housing, better healthcare, food deserts, and medical deserts? How can this platform now be used to make life better for somebody else?”
