By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
The Pioneering women of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority (AKA) have left an indelible legacy in the Pacific Northwest and the Seattle Public Library (SPL) will be placing that legacy on display at their Central Library in Downtown Seattle now through September 15.
Black Activism in Print: Visual Art from the African American Collection will display framed prints created by prominent Black artists and activists Charles White and Elizabeth Catlett from the Douglass-Truth Library’s African American Collection, marking the first time that they’ll be featured at the Central Library since they were donated in the 1960s.
According to Taylor Brooks, the African American Collection and Community Engagement Librarian at the Douglas Truth Library, the collection is significant in that it not only showcases the work of the artist, but it also ties into the social activism that they represented at the time.
“It (the collection) actually has a double meaning because we are talking about the artist who were activist for their time and their actual lithograph prints but also for the collection, the collection itself is mostly a print collection and were the result of civil activism in Seattle,” says Brooks.
Crystal Bell, historian for the Delta Upsilon Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, says the African American collection played a pivotal role in saving the Douglass-Truth Library, known as the Yesler Branch Library at the time, from closure and was a sense of cultural pride during the civil rights movement for Black Americans living in the Puget Sound and the Central District of Seattle.
“I feel like the African American Collection, which my chapter started in 1965, is pivotal,” says Bell. ‘It started with the goal of saving the library in 1964 for the then primarily African American community. In 1965 the movement was towards compiling a collection of notable books, relevant materials, from various genres as well as pieces art collected and created by Black people and making them available alongside the works of predominantly Caucasian works for reference purposes and for checking out of the library.”
“This exhibit is the first of what I hope will be many more to come,” Bell continued. “I think our Librarian, Taylor Brooks, can affirm that there is much more to uncover and explore within the collections of the Alpha Kappa Alpha African American Collection [at the Douglass-Truth Branch].”
The collections itself is a labor of love not only for the sorority, but specifically for sorority members Roberta Byrd Barr, a legendary figure in Washington state’s African American history; Dr. Millie Russell, the first African American student in the Medical Technology program at Seattle University; and Ruth Marie Brown, a charter member of Alpha Kappa Alpha’s Delta Upsilon Omega Chapter. These women spearheaded the efforts of the local chapter to work with librarian James Welsch to assemble a collection of art that reflected the Black community in the Central District, to help stimulate engagement and circulation in the library.
Brooks, in both her role as an historian and librarian, is extremely excited about sharing the importance of these three prominent women in Seattle history and thought it significant that their efforts be highlighted alongside the artist as well.
“I think the part of the exhibit that I think is most important is really talking about the figures who actually curated and pioneered the African American Collection,” says Brooks. “I know that these figures are very big in Seattle but it is still really important for younger people or people, who may not know a lot about the Central District, to know who they are: Roberta Byrd Barr, Dr. Millie Russell and Ruth Marie Brown. I think this so important to really learn about these women, what they did for the Central District, the collection and how that longevity still impacts us today.”
According to SPL, the exhibit will also include poems inspired by the prints, composed by members of the African American Writers’ Alliance who are also sponsors of the collections, and historical ephemera (donation letters, petitions and photographs) pertaining to the origins of the African American Collection.
“I want everyone who visits to feel proud to live or visit a place like SPL and the Douglass-Truth Library, right here in Seattle,” says Bell. “This exhibit is where the truth about the history of a collection envisioned, created, maintained, and supported by a Black Sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Inc. can be lived, explored, shared, and understood today and for future generations.”
