An app focused on history and stories of Black Washingtonians to be released in June

Amid Black History Month, Washington state residents are learning stories focused on the lived experiences of African-American residents and their lives in the Evergreen State. Later this year, a resource will be available that collects dozens of stories about Black Washingtonians. And it will be accessible for free right at your fingertips.

The Washington State Historical Society is the premier organization documenting the lived experiences and stories of the Evergreen State. A look at their website shows the group’s ongoing and upcoming events and exhibits at the Washington State History Museum in Tacoma.

Coming this June, right in time for Juneteenth, the historical society is bringing more stories to your smartphone and computer focused on the history of Black Washington state residents.

The Washington Black History Project has been in development since 2021 and aims to tell the stories, icons and landmarks associated with the state’s African-American community, according to project manager Michael King. He is also the education and public programs manager with the historical society.

The News Tribune spoke with King to learn more about the story behind the project, when he first began work on it and when users can expect to dive into it. Here’s what we asked King. Some answers have been edited for clarity.

Q&A on Black Washington project

Where did the idea to produce the application come about?

In the last legislative session, a group of legislators, led by Representative Eric Pettigrew, allocated funding in the capital budget for the Washington State Historical Society to lead a commemoration of Black History Month in 2021 at the State Capitol. This included the planning and presentation of events and/or exhibitions on the Capitol campus, development of digital educational resources, and the creation or refurbishment of permanent fixtures and/or structures commemorating the history of African-Americans in Washington state.

An Advisory Committee was convened and further refined the scope of digital educational resources as an app that will be free and accessible to everyone with internet access, and downloadable to smartphones.

How long has this application been in development?

The preliminary groundwork and research for the app began in 2021, though the [actual] building process commenced in 2022.

Can you tell me who on your staff is responsible for getting the application off the ground?

We have a number of staff that are working on this project including the Washington State Historical Society’s education team. We are also collaborating with project contractors, including [Washington state] historian Ryan Anthony Donaldson, and a wide range of individuals and partner organizations across the state.

Can you tell me what kind of work the staff is doing to produce the app? For instance, are you partnering with other organizations to complete the project?

We are collaborating with numerous individuals and organizations across the state to research and develop content that commemorates the presence, contributions, and evolving impact of local Black communities. This has truly been a community endeavor.

How are you organizing information in the application to make it easy for readers to navigate? Could you provide an example of how a page might look?

We’re organizing the app around the themes of stories, icons, and landmarks. Stories explore community organizing, engaging in labor and operating business, striving for civil rights, achieving education, pursuing the arts, and overcoming adversity.

Entries that explore icons focus on individuals, including business owners, faith leaders, politicians, journalists, dramatists, and musicians.

Entries on landmarks explore cultural spaces, historic sites, and locations integral to Washington State’s Black communities are identified on an expanding atlas.

How many different stories do you expect the app to have at launch?

We expect to have approximately 45 or 50 stories to share at the time the app launches later this year.

Will the application be updated with more content after it launches?

Absolutely. This is an ongoing project and we will regularly add new content to the app. In fact, we’re including a “Share Your Story” page to the app so that individuals across the state can submit recommendations for future entries.

Where can people download the app once it launches? On a computer or smartphone?

The app will be available in both Apple and Google stores and a website version will be available on the Washington State Historical Society website, www.washingtonhistory.org.

Will people have to pay to use the app?

The app will be free and accessible to anyone who would like to explore it. We will also have a website-based version of the resource available for anyone who prefers that option. We’re excited to launch the resource in June and we’ll provide opportunities for anyone interested to explore the app at our Juneteenth commemoration that month.