Did You Know?
Black History Month as we know it today initially began 99 years ago when Carter G. Woodson (a Black historian, author and scholar) established Negro History Week. Since its creation, there has always been an annual theme to explore Black history and culture across time and space, throughout the U.S., Africa, and the Diaspora. This year’s theme for Black History Month is African Americans and Labor, which explores how “work and working of all kinds – free and unfree, skilled, and unskilled, vocational and voluntary – intersect with the collective experiences of Black people.”
Get Involved
In honor of Black History Month, we’ve put together some resources, collections on campus, and events happening in our community this February. We invite you to listen, learn, watch, support, and be in community however you are able to!
Listen & Learn
The Long Shadows of Seattle podcast series explores the stories of important people that made an impact on Seattle’s history of racial justice and political activism. Using collections from the University of Washington Libraries’ Special Collections, host Stellan Harris guides you through the lives of some of Seattle’s hidden figures.
Visit Seattle’s African American Cultural Heritage Guide. This is a resource for anyone who wants to learn more about Seattle’s rich cultural heritage, including museums, historic sites, public art and neighborhoods that will give you an insider’s view of Seattle’s vibrant ethnic communities and unique history.
Check out resources from the UW Libraries Labor Archive (courtesy of UW libraries), like…
The papers and photographs of Earl George: George was a Black worker and leader, labor and civil rights activist, and photographer. He participated in the Seattle General Strike of 1919 as a longshore worker. He also became the first Black president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 9 in 1938. He worked towards combatting racial discrimination, including a 1948 campaign that succeeded in dismantling racist hiring practices of Seattle-area grocery stores. As a photographer for a number of political publications, including the Communist Party, George’s papers also include photographs of community activists and political actions happening around the city in the late 20th century.
The Tyree Scott papers and photograph collections as well as the papers of Scott’s partner, Beverly Sims: Scott and Sims were Black labor organizers in Seattle. Tyree led the United Construction Workers Association and devoted his time to combatting racial discrimination in the labor movement. Beverly Sims was one of the first Black women to complete the IBEW electrician apprenticeship program and also worked for the Northwest Labor Employment and Law Office. A portion of the Tyree Scott and Earl George photographs have been digitized and are accessible in the digital collections database.
Watch Together
On May 5, 2022, EarthLab had a virtual conversation with Leah Thomas, founder of the Intersectional Environmentalist organization.
This event recording features Leah reading an excerpt from her new book, “The Intersectional Environmentalist: How to Dismantle Systems of Oppression to Protect People + Planet,” and a Q&A session with the audience.
You can watch the full recorded event below:
Support
Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle Directory. Find a Black-owned business to support this month (and every month) by searching Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle’s directory of 100+ local businesses!
Donate to UW’s Black Opportunity Fund. The UW Black Opportunity Fund invests in services and programs for health and academic success, including but not limited to Black student organizations, Graduate Opportunities and Minority Achievement Program GO-MAP, Brotherhood Initiative, Sisterhood Initiative and the Women’s Center.
In Community
All month long:
Black History Month: Virtual Festival Schedule | Association for the Study of African American Life and History
Black Artist Scavenger Hunt | Tacoma Public Library
Call to Conscience | Rainier Avenue Radio & Columbia City Theater
February 22:
Black Art Take Over | Northwest African American Museum | 11 am – 4 pm
February 24:
Everybody’s Work Film Screening | Neighborcare Health, UW MPSCARE, ARCH Center | 6 – 8:30 pm
February 26:
Victor Luckerson: A Scheme to Forget, a Demand to Remember | Seattle Townhall | 6:30 pm