EXHIBITS

Tacoma’s Civil Rights Struggle: African Americans Leading the Way

President John F. Kennedy at the White House with African American leaders, June 21, 1963. Tacoma’s Jack Tanner stands behind Kennedy, his hands on a chair. (Washington State Historical Society)

August 18 through December 7

The South was not the only place where Americans were denied equal rights. Right here in Washington, as little as 35 years ago, Americans couldn’t get jobs or housing because of their color. The national civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s helped, but local leaders fought for equal rights in their own way. Learn how in Tacoma’s Civil Rights Struggle: African Americans Leading the Way. The exhibit explores the trials and tribulations of the civil rights movement in the City of Destiny. The struggles of local activists are brought to life through pictures, interviews, artifacts and more, many not seen in half a century. You will also see how the equal rights effort continues today.

This exhibit is generously supported by Tacoma Civil Rights Project, Pierce County, City of Tacoma, Comcast, Russell Investments and Weyerhaeuser Company.

The West the Railroads Made

Brochure promoting travel along the route of the Great Northern Railway, 1933. (Washington State Historical Society)

NOW through January 24, 2009

Take a fresh look at what the iron road created in The West the Railroads Made. Learn about how this one form of transportation reshaped the West and helped create a truly continental nation.

The West the Railroads Made recounts how the idea of a Pacific railroad grew through the 1840s and 1850s, how it came to life in the second half of the 19th century, and how it reconceived itself to survive new challenges by the late 20th century. It features more than 80 artifacts, including rare railroad ephemera, photographs, paintings and other three-dimensional pieces.

Organized by the Washington State Historical Society and the Barriger Railroad Library of the St. Louis Mercantile Library at the University of Missouri, St. Louis.

This exhibit is generously supported by M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, Burlington Northern Santa Fe, TTX, Click! Cable TV, Union Pacific Railroad, Ajax Foundation, The News Tribune, Tacoma Rail, Port of Tacoma, Dimmer Family Foundation, Candelaria Fund, Patricia & David J. Nierenberg Family Fund, FreightCar America, Inc. and Great Northern Asset Management, LLC.

Faces of Leadership: Presidential Portraiture

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt visits Tacoma, October 1937 (Washington State Historical Society).

NOW through October 5

Since the founding of our nation in 1776, artists far and wide have created images of our presidents and displayed them for all to see. These creative works surpass mere physical representations, providing historical continuity and a visible legacy for our nation. The exhibition features over 30 artworks and images from the permanent collections of the Washington State Historical Society, including sculpture busts, coins and medallions, and snapshots of presidents on the move. Organized by the Washington State Historical Society.

PUBLIC PROGRAMS

Anna Allen, first female African American bus driver in Tacoma, Wash., sits behind the wheel of her bus, 1970-79. (Washington State Historical Society)

“Transforming Tacoma: The Struggle for Civil Rights”

Film Screening and Panel Discussion

Sunday, September 7 from 3 to 5 PM

Catch a screening of the companion film to the exhibit Tacoma’s Civil Rights Struggle: African Americans Leading the Way. Produced by award-winning documentary filmmaker Sidney Lee, the film features interviews with participants in Tacoma’s equal rights effort, including Tacoma’s first African American mayor, Harold Moss.

After the film, join Moss; Thomas Dixon, president emeritus of the Tacoma Urban League; Barbara Johns, curator and museum consultant; and Dexter Gordon, director of African American Studies at University of Puget Sound; among others, for a panel discussion. Panel members will discuss their personal efforts towards equal rights as well as answer questions from audience participants.

This program is open to the public, and FREE with museum admission.

Racial and Social Justice Film Series and Discussions
Presented by the Washington State History Museum and YWCA Pierce County

First screening Thursday, September 25 @ 6 PM

The Washington State History Museum and YWCA Pierce County are partnering to present a series of four films with themes centering on racial and social justice. These FREE admission films will include an interactive audience discussion with a moderator following the film. The first film of the series, showing on Sept. 25, is “The Color of Fear.” Three more films are scheduled for Nov. 13, Jan. 19, and Feb. 26.

“The Color of Fear”
This 1994 documentary by Lee Mun Wah interviews eight men of various ethnicities about their experiences dealing with racism and prejudice. The men explore how racism has impacted their lives and after listening to one another, come to an understanding of each other’s views.

This program is FREE and open to the public.

SAVE THE DATE

Saturday, Oct. 18

Ghosts of the Great Hall: Disaster! Natural Catastrophes in the Pacific Northwest

From 1 to 4 PM

Two locamotives in the snow at the site of the Wellington avalanche disaster, March 10, 1910. (Washington State Historical Society)

Come experience Ghosts of the Great Hall—a popular educational program for school groups—open to the public for just one day. Actors in the Great Hall of Washington History bring historical characters to life as they tell stories of natural disasters in the Pacific Northwest. From the eruption of Mount St. Helens to the avalanche that felled two Great Northern trains, investigate the history of natural catastrophes using artifacts, ephemera, and photographs to unlock the mysteries of our geologic past. This program is FREE with museum admission.

ACROSS THE STATE

“A Well-Dressed Man Leaped Ashore”: Tracking Culture and Place on the Columbia River Through David Thompson’s Eyes

Detail of David Thompson’s map of North America from 84° west to the Pacific Ocean, Public Record Office, Kew, England. (Courtesy Jack Nisbet)

Wednesday, September 24 @ 7:30 PM

Discover the adventures of explorer, fur trader, and mapmaker David Thompson in Columbia country in this illustrated presentation by author Jack Nisbet. Thompson created the first accurate picture of the northwest region of North America in his maps. Nisbet is the author of Sources of the River: Tracking David Thompson across Western North America.

The talk will be held at E.B. Hamilton Hall of the Red Cross Building, Vancouver National Historic Reserve in Vancouver, Wash. This FREE public program is sponsored by the Center for Columbia River History, a consortium of Washington State Historical Society, Portland State University, and Washington State University Vancouver, created to promote the study of Columbia River Basin history. For more information, call 360-258-3289, email info@ccrh.org, or visit www.ccrh.org.

Text and Textile: Quilts and the Construction of the Social Fabric

Emma Von Fleet’s Civil War quilt, 1886. (Courtesy Yakima Valley Museum)

On display through December 23 at the Yakima Valley Museum, this exhibit investigates textiles from the Civil War to the early 20th century.

Curated by Lou Cabeen, associate professor in the School of Art at the University of Washington, Seattle, quilts are viewed as historic documents which can be decoded for insight into the local and national events that shaped their making. Quilts are a quintessential American art form, long recognized as important artifacts in the history of the decorative arts. However, many quilts also literally record public events and social mores through the use of text—written in ink, stitched in thread, or printed by manufacturers.

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The Washington State History Museum, flagship of the Washington State Historical Society, is located at 1911 Pacific Avenue in downtown Tacoma, just off 1-5. The Museum presents exhibits, programs, and events that bring to life the stories of Washington’s history. For more information please call 1-888-BE-THERE (1-888-238-4373), or visit our web site, WashingtonHistory.org.

Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 10 AM – 5 PM, with extended hours and free admission every Thursday night, 5 – 8 PM; Sunday NOON – 5 PM. Admission: $25 for families (two adults and up to four children); $8 for adults; $7 for seniors, age 60 and above; $6 for students and military with valid ID; children, age 5 and below, and members are always FREE.