Black Legislators of Washington State: Additional Reading

"Black Americans in Congress, 1870-2007" is a comprehensive history of the more than 120 African Americans who have served in the United States Congress. Written for a general audience, this book contains a profile of each African American member, including notables such as Hiram Revels, Joseph Rainey, Oscar De Priest, Adam Clayton Powell, Shirley Chisholm, Gus Hawkins, and Barbara Jordan. Individual profiles are introduced by contextual essays that explain major events in congressional and U.S. history. The volume also features: pictures, including rarely seen historical images of each African American who has served in Congress; bibliographies and references to manuscript collections for each member; statistical graphs; charts; and index.

Harold G. Moss, an American politician whose political career spanned more than 60 years, tells his story in a way that only "Moss" can tell it! Harold Moss was the first African American city council member in Tacoma, Washington, as well as its first African American mayor, and the first African American member of the Pierce County Council. "Fighting for Dreams that Mattered" is a story about the civil rights movement in the Pacific Northwest told by an everyday hero: His dreams, his struggles, his triumphs.

The newspaper published by John H. Ryan and his wife Ella Ryan, available on microfilm at the Washington State Library.

A finding aid for the collection of Samuel J. Smith's papers, located at the Washington State Archives.

Describes eight busy days in the life of Norman Rice, mayor of Seattle.

Oral history of former Washington State Senator Rosa Franklin

Oral history interview conducted with politician Samuel. J. Smith by the Office of the Secretary of State's Oral History program.

Song for My Father is a daughter's memoir of her father, Charles M. Stokes, a prominent African American member of the National Republican Party. Known as "Stokey," he was born just forty years after the abolition of slavery. But by the time he became a pioneer in the fields of law, legislation, and politics -- during the turbulent and transformative 1960s and 70s -- contemporary associations of the GOP with the "party of Lincoln" had faded. Stokes's choice to remain a Republican against the tide of black Democratic political loyalty took courage. He would live to become Seattle's first Black state legislator and serve as Washington State's first African American district court judge. With "Song for My Father," Ms. Stokes pays tribute to a man whose love for his country, his family, and his people made a world of difference for generations to come. Stokes's life is a compelling example of what American Dreams are made of.