Check It Out

Did you know that the Douglass-Truth Library at 23rd and Yesler houses “one of the largest collections of African American literature and history on the West Coast?” Per the Seattle Public Library website, the collection features more than 10,000 items, including biographies, magazines, literature, music and films. It has “a strong emphasis on Northwest materials and Seattle-area history with pamphlets, fliers and posters on local leaders and issues.”

The library opened in 1914 and was originally named after Henry Yesler. The African American Collection was established in1965 by the sorority members of the Delta Upsilon Omega Chapter (Alpha Kappa Alpha, Inc.) who, in addition to starting the African American collection, saved the branch from closure in the 1960s. Through the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, the collection “was entirely funded and supported by the sorority members and the Black community, who would hold annual library teas and arts-related programs to raise donations to grow the collection” (SPL website).

According to HistoryLink, under head librarian James Welch what was then called the “Yesler Branch” became a “symbol of the culture and identity of the neighborhood.…The auditorium hosted meetings by various civil rights groups and youth groups as well as the Black Panthers, Radical Women, and the Students for a Democratic Society.”

One of the most notable features of the library stands outside. What many passersby see as a totem pole, the Soul Pole was intended to capture 400 years of Black history. It was carved and named by a half-dozen high school students at what was then called the Rotary Boys Club. Fashioned from a 21-foot yellow cedar telephone pole in 1969 as part of a summer arts festival, it was installed at the building’s west corner in 1972. The project was led by the club’s director Wilson Gulley, Sr. and its art director Raqib Mu'ied, who carved the top piece, a head which “represents African American awakening and freedom.” Stephanie Johnson-Toliver, president of the Black Heritage Society of Washington State, has said the pole represents “a beacon of pride that anchors the history of Black people to Seattle's Central District.” The pole was refurbished in 2021. A ten-minute documentary on the Soul Pole can be seen at the Douglass-Truth Library’s website and provides wonderful close-ups of the carved faces and chains.

In the 1970s, locals asked that the branch be renamed and reached out to the community for suggestions. “Abolitionist leaders Frederick Douglass (1817-1895) and Sojourner Truth (ca. 1797-1883) each received the same number of votes. On December 5, 1975, Mayor Wes Uhlman proclaimed the branch the Douglass-Truth Library” (HistoryLink).

The library was expanded and remodeled in 2006. In addition to its Black literature collection, Douglass-Truth offers materials in Amharic, Oromo, Spanish and Tigrinya.

~Anne Depue