Black History & Culture Month: Local Connections

This guide is a starting point for students and faculty seeking to better understand issues related to racial justice and racism in America. It is a work in progress, additional resources will be added.

Black History Resources of Influential People HistoryLink.org is the free online encyclopedia of Washington State history.

Find a Black-owned business to support by searching Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle’s directory of more than 90 local businesses.

Resources and educational tools for supporting Seattle's Black communities

Locally Black-owned community newspaper

Local Black-owned media outlet offering news reports, op-eds, lifestyle, and much more.

Includes news reports and community voices that showcase the experiences of the South Seattle community.

Intentionalist is an online guide to intentional spending that supports small businesses and diverse local communities. We make it easy for you to find local restaurants, bars, gyms, shops, and more owned by women, people of color, veterans, LGBTQ, families, and disabled people. Beyond serving as a directo

Northwest Public Broadcasting
William Owen Bush, the eldest son of Washington’s first Black pioneer, George Bush, was Washington’s first Black legislator. He served in the first Legislature after Washington became a state in 1889 and was instrumental in founding what is now Washington State University.

The Black Heritage Society of Washington State, Inc. was first proposed in 1977 and became incorporated in 1982. Preserving, collecting, and sharing the history of African Americans in Washington State.

As part of the United States' Bicentennial celebration, the Washington State Archives undertook an oral history project which focused on the Black community in Seattle and King County. These 69 interviews were conducted by Esther Hall Mumford in 1975 and 1976, and include audio, transcripts, and negatives. Transcriptions were created shortly after the interviews took place. Negatives can include portraits of interviewees, as well as images, are taken of photographs, clippings, and other items belonging to or relating to interviewees.

Historical legislators were identified using contemporary newspaper accounts, press releases, and other primary source materials. African Americans have had continuous representation in our state's legislature since 1957.