Blacks in Thurston County Washington 1950 to 1975 by Dr. Thelma Jackson History

Description: Just over a decade ago, Dr. Thelma Jackson realized something: even though she and her family had lived in Thurston County since the 1970s, they only ever heard one story about local Black history, that of pioneer George Washington Bush, who settled in this area with his family in 1843. As a Black community leader, Dr. Jackson knew there were a lot more stories to tell. Her family had spent decades connecting with other Black people in the area and knew that many more had come before them. But stories about Black people simply weren’t part of the local history and lore; their experiences were, as far as documented history was concerned, invisible.An idea emergesSo Dr. Jackson decided to start interviewing community members. A former Community Foundation board member and nonprofit founder who has spent a lifetime advocating for equity in education and other arenas was invested, personally and as a citizen, in discovering what life was like for Black people in the middle of the last century. Over a ten-year period, she and a handful of other collaborators interviewed longtime Black residents of Thurston County—those who settled here during a 25-yearperiod—in order to capture their stories and publish them for the public. This year, her idea came to fruition. She released her new book, Blacks in Thurston County, Washington: 1950-1975:A Community Album, during Black History Month at an event at the Lacey Community Center.The book, which is now in its third printing, is a collection of 55 short profiles highlighting the experiences of Black individuals. According to the nonprofit organization that Dr. Jackson founded and runs, Northwest Institute for Leadership and Change, the book tells stories about residents’ migrations to the area in order to “help the reader to understand who were these Black people, where did they come from, what brought them here,...what challenges did they face, and what had life been like for them?”Dr. Jackson conducted most of the interviews and estimates that she personally spent many dozens of hours conducting research and interviewing community members, both over the phone and in person. She and the other interviewers coordinated their approach, asking each person, for instance, where they migrated from, what brought them to the area, where they lived, and what kinds of difficulties or challenges they faced.

Price: 19.99 USD

Location: Olympia, Washington

End Time: 2025-02-09T21:26:58.000Z

Shipping Cost: 5.5 USD