Download the Seattle African American Heritge Guide pdf (1.1mb)

FURTHER AFIELD

Jimi Hendrix Memorial
Greenwood Memorial Park
350 Monroe Avenue NE, Renton 425.255.1511
Musician Jimi Hendrix grew up in Seattle's Central Area, achieving international fame in the 1960s. Following his untimely death, his family created a memorial that has been visited by millions of fans from around the world. Located approximately 40 minutes southeast of Seattle. www.jimihendrixmemorial.com

Navy officers, Bremerton, ca. 1943, courtesy of Black Heritage Society of Washington, Inc.

Puget Sound Navy Museum
251 First Street, Bremerton 360.479.7447
An hour west of Seattle by ferry, Bremerton is home to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, the Navy's largest ship repair facility in the Northwest. During World War I and II, thousands of people came from all over the country to work in the shipyards, including many African American men and women, and many Black sailors and enlisted men were stationed at nearby military facilities. www.visitkitsap.com

Black Historical Society of Kitsap County
1204 Park Avenue, 360.479.3608
Community history is preserved and exhibited by the Black Historical Society of Kitsap County; open by appointment. www.kitsapblackhistory.org

Washington State History Museum
1911 Pacific Avenue, Tacoma 888.238.4373
Stories of African Americans in Washington are woven into exhibits on the state's mining industry, early settlement, wartime economy and civil rights. www.washingtonhistory.org

Tacoma Art Museum
1701 Pacific Avenue, Tacoma 253.272.4258
Permanent and temporary exhibits feature the work of African American artists from the Pacific Northwest and around the country. www.tacomaartmuseum.org

Ellensburg Public Library Photo

Roslyn Historic District
First Street & Pennsylvania Avenue
This mining town 1.5 hours east of Seattle played a pivotal role in the region's ethnic history in 1891, when over one hundred African American miners left the southern U.S and traveled to Roslyn, where they had unknowingly been recruited to work as strike breakers for the Northern Pacific Coal Company. Some of the Black miners left quickly for other destinations, but many stayed with their families and established strong connections in the community, and Roslyn was the first town in Washington State to elect a Black mayor. Well-preserved commercial and residential districts are walkable, and visitors attractions include the Roslyn History Museum, the Northwest Improvement Company Store building, the 1902 Old City Hall & Library, and the historic Mount Olivet African American cemetery, part of a complex of historic cemeteries. www.cleelumroslyn.org