Black History

Over Fifty years ago, a tragic accident ended the groundbreaking career of Major Robert H. Lawrence, Jr., a Chicago native and stellar Air Force pilot who became America’s first Black astronaut. On December 8, 2017—the 50th anniversary of his death—NASA honored his often-ignored legacy and contributions to the agency.

We are grateful for the visionary leadership of noted historian and scholar Carter G. Woodson for being the founder of what was known as Negro History Week in 1926 that 44 years later evolved into Black History Month.

Philip Burton was a Seattle lawyer for more than 40 years, a voice for the disadvantaged, and a fighter for reforms to end discrimination in education, housing and employment.  His legal actions led to the desegregation of Seattle Public Schools. 

Odessa Brown, for whom the Children’s Clinic in Seattle is named, was born April 30, 1920, in Des Arc, Arkansas. She moved to Seattle in 1963 after receiving training as a licensed beautician at the C. J. Walker Beauty School in Chicago.

Dr. Blanche Sellers Lavizzo was the first African American woman pediatrician in the state of Washington. She arrived in Seattle in 1956, with her husband Dr. Philip Lavizzo, a general surgeon.

Thelma Dewitty was the first Black teacher to be hired by the Seattle Public Schools. She had been a teacher in Corpus Christi, Texas for 14 years and began her Seattle teaching career in September 1947, after intervention on her behalf by the Seattle Urban League, NAACP, the Civic Unity Committee, and Christian Friends for Racial Equality.

Ron Sims is a civic volunteer active in health, education, environmental and social equity issues. Appointed by Governor Jay Inslee, Sims serves as the chair of the Washington Health Benefit Exchange Board. The board is responsible for the implementation of the Affordable Care Act in Washington State. 

Benjamin Banneker, born in 1731 in Ellicotts Mills, Maryland, was the grandson of an English woman who married her slave and subsequently set free, their daughter did the same and Banneker was birthed out of that union.

Norman B. Rice was the 49th mayor of Seattle, Washington, serving two terms from 1990 to 1997. Rice was Seattle's first and to date only elected African-American mayor.

Dr. Maxine Mimms has always defied the odds from the beginning, achieving high acclaim in the educational world, including establishing formally in 1982, the Evergreen-Tacoma campus.