By Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium
The Seattle Public Library will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the renaming of the Douglass-Truth Branch with a community-wide event on Saturday, December 13, from noon to 5 p.m. Highlights of the event include branch history tours, a creative engagement activity for all ages, a live performance by the Garfield Jazz Quartet, and a presentation and guided tour of the branch’s African American Collection, one of the largest of its kind on the West Coast.
Located in the Central District, the Douglass-Truth Branch was renamed in 1975 to honor abolitionists Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth. The anniversary celebration invites all Seattle residents to reflect on the branch’s history and its significance as a cultural and educational hub rooted in the Black legacy of the neighborhood.
“I would love for the community to see how vibrant our branch is because we have people from all walks of life,” said Brian Den-Hartog Lindsey, curator of the African American Collection. “I want people to be introduced to the African American collection, the reason being that many people are unaware that we have the largest collection on the West Coast. I encourage people to come in and spend some time in it because there are a lot of amazing things that you can just get lost in.”
Although the branch first opened in 1914 at East Yesler Way and 23rd Avenue, it did not take on its current name until the community voted in 1975 to rename it in tribute to two of the most influential figures in the abolitionist movement. The decision cemented the branch’s connection to the Central District and its Black community.
Stephanie Johnson-Toliver, president of the Black Heritage Society of Washington State (BHS), said the Central District today is experiencing a cultural resurgence, and the Douglass-Truth Branch continues to play a key role in that momentum.
“That is what I absolutely love about the Central District. I am a fourth-generation Seattleite and have seen a lot of transitions here,” said Tolliver. “The power of the community right now is really rising to where the voices are being heard all around, not only about our social justice, but in terms of education, equality, and affordable housing. The Douglass-Truth Branch creates character within the community, and they are the hubs of the community. All people who reside within the Central District can feel some sort of emergence of this return to acknowledgement and rootedness of the Black legacy within the Central District.”
The event is being presented in partnership with the Delta Upsilon Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and the Black Heritage Society of Washington State — two longtime supporters of the branch and its mission. The African American Collection, which began in 1965 with a donation from the sorority, has since evolved into a nationally recognized archive of Black literature, history, and culture.
“At one point in the mid to late 60s, they were thinking about shutting the library down because they didn’t see any use for it,” said Den Hartog-Lindsey. “And AKA-DUO was like no, we are not going to close the branch; they are a beacon of our community, and we will do whatever it takes to keep it open. So that is when the donated funding started to support the African American collection. James Welsh was actually the pioneer of helping get that collection started, working hand in hand with the AKA-DUO.”
Over the years, BHS has partnered with the Douglass-Truth Branch, helping to preserve and uplift the rich Black legacy of the Central District.
“The library has always been that hub and symbol of libraries within the Central District community,” said Johnson-Toliver. “At BHS, it is definitely one of those historic sites within Seattle that we uphold all the time, and our relationship with the team at the library is pretty much robust at this time.”
Johnson-Toliver believes that preserving and uplifting the stories behind the branch’s history is essential — not only to highlight the rich Black heritage of the Central District, but also to ensure younger generations can see people who look like them in leadership roles.
“When young Black kids can see leadership within the library, particularly Black librarians, that is huge,” said Johnson-Toliver. “One of the things we would like to promote and increase within our collections is the stories of Black librarians.”
As the Central District continues to evolve, Den Hartog-Lindsey said they plan to ensure the collection remains relevant, accessible, and reflective of the community by increasing promotion and devoting more effort to giving the collection the exposure it truly deserves.
“We just did a 4-hour photo shoot where we staged some of the items from the collection, and we are going to start promoting it on the SPL website,” Den Hartog-Lindsey said. “One of my goals for 2026 is to refresh the collection and make it a bit more robust.”
Looking ahead, Johnson-Toliver stressed the importance of safeguarding the Black history at the branch, especially during a time when she sees efforts by the current administration to diminish or limit the teaching of Black history.
“It is a hot topic right now, with the talk of banned books. The most important thing that comes to mind for me is the accessibility of the library. We are not putting things on the shelf that we think should or shouldn’t be there; we leave it up to the people to pull and read whatever they would like to read,” Johnson-Toliver said. “In futuristic movies, you always see libraries still standing, and so my vision is that libraries will remain and stand long beyond all of us.”
