Call to Conscience 2007 : Elder Ceremony

This ceremony will be honoring 11 living Black Americans who have blazed paths, impacted, changed or have been unsung hereos in the state of Washington. Join us at the Pantages Theatre on February 17th at 6:00pm.

Henry Beaucamp

Henry Beauchamp was elected to the Yakima City Council in 1978 where he served for 24 years, including two years as Mayor between 1986 and 1988. Henry has served several governors on commissions and blue ribbon panels and Dr. Sullivan selected him to travel to South Africa to determine how OIC could assist its rebirth. Most recently, Henry was called upon to save Seattle’s Branch Villa Health Care Center, the largest African American owned health care business in Washington. Faced with inevitable closure, Henry’s team saved Branch Villa and on April 3, 2003 celebrated its rebirth as the Leon Sullivan Center.

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Dr. Joe Brazil

Joe Brazil a musician and professor at University of Washington supported African American students during the time of civil rights struggles and sustained Seattle and Puget Sound as a place for jazz musicians to perform keeping jazz alive in Seattle.

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Thomas Dixon

In 1966, Thomas Dixon was named chair of the organizing committee for the establishment of the Urban League in the City of Tacoma; and Thomas Dixon was the founding President of the Tacoma Urban League when it opened its doors to the African-American community in 1968. After dedicating more than 30 years as president, he is now president Emeritus of the Tacoma Urban League, He used his leadership of the Tacoma Urban League to assure that members of the United Armed Services could make home, establish themselves and families in the Puget Sound.

Many servicemen returning from wars and terms of duty in the United States Armed Forces now call Pierce County home because of Tom’s work for open housing, job development and training to inspire, empower, and provide employment. His effective attention to education led to his award of an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Puget Sound in 1988. Although officially retired from his assignments as President of the Tacoma Urban League, he retains his position as the leader and prominent community icon of the City of Tacoma, the State of Washington.

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Senator Rosa Franklin

Senator Rosa Franklin , RN received her nursing diploma education at Good Samaritan Waverly Hospital School of Nursing in Columbia, South Carolina. She went on to obtain a BA in Biology/English from the University of Puget Sound, and then an MA in Social Science/Human Relations from Pacific Lutheran University. She also participated in the Gynecorp Training Program at the University of Washington, as well as attending numerous continuing education workshops.

Rosa's nursing career spanned more than 40 years and many positions in health care before she retired and moved to her second career – politics!

Rosa was an active member of WSNA for most all of those years, serving on numerous committees and policy bodies at the District and State level and on the Board of Directors of the Pierce County District Association and the Mary Mahoney Club.

She was elected to the State legislature in 1990, serving there until January 1993 when she was sworn in as Senator from the 29th legislative District, which includes south Tacoma and surrounding areas. Senator Franklin is the first African-American female elected to the Washington State Senate. Her leadership roles in the Senate are a tribute to her accomplishments, as well as a symbol of the respect given her by the Senate body.

She has been chosen to serve as Majority Whip and as the Democratic Whip and now, in her second term, is serving as President Pro Tem of the Senate. She serves as vice chair of the Senate Health and Long Term Care Committee and the Rules Committee. She is also a member of the Human Services and Corrections Committee and the Labor, Commerce and Financial Institutions Committee.

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Dawn Mason

As a Minority Employment Specialist in 1966 – 1973 Dawn recruited and promoted African Americans in jobs in departments formerly closed to them including; Police, Fire, Water, Building and City Light. Many of her recruits went on to hold leadership positions in the City of Seattle. She was elected and re-elected as State Representative 1995-1999, she is one of only three African American women to be elected to the Washington Legislature. Representing the 37th legislative District in Seattle she represented communities with great needs. During her two terms she directed more then $7 million dollars for capital improvements including funding to complete the McKinney Manor, rehabilitate historic Columbia Hotel in Columbia City and rebuild Villa Plaza for low income families. She stopped the passage of legislation that would end Affirmative Action in Washington.

The measure was passed by the voters but she was determined that affirmative action would not be disbanded on her watch. Her amendments to the stadium funding created economic safeguards for women and minority contractors. She led 21 small business owners to South Africa on the first trade mission ever from the State of Washington to Africa. Her Masters in Education is applied to her work as a community educator. She is co-founder of Parents of Student Success and she continues to advocate for the education of undereducated children in the Puget Sound region and Kenya, East Africa. She is working to take women of African ancestry to Africa on Cultural Reconnection Missions and is a the visionary custodian of the Flip Flops for Kenyan Kids project where to date 2,000 pairs of flip flops have been collected and donated to Kenyan organizations.

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Dr. Maxine Mimms

In 1970, The Evergreen State College opened its doors in Olympia with a mandate to serve undergraduate students in Washington state in new and innovative ways.

Dr. Maxine Mimms, an Evergreen faculty member, took this mandate seriously and, in 1972, at the request of members of Tacoma's African-American community, focused on developing an educational program that would serve place-bound working adult students there. A clear focus on serving the educational needs of urban, African-American adult learners combined with an interest in teaching inner-city adults, led to the founding principles of the Tacoma Campus program.

Evergreen-Tacoma was formally established in 1982 on the corner of Martin Luther King Way and 12th Street under the leadership of Dr. Mimms.

She has come out of retirement several times ensure that African American students K – 12 graduate and have instruction that is vibrant and relevant. Her mission to increase the number of African American women in Washington with Doctorate degrees has improved the education of families across the region. Her most recent post retirement institution is the Maxine Mimms Academies for suspended, expelled and undereducated students.

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Harold Moss

Former Mayor of Tacoma, the first African American to serve on the Tacoma City Council in 1970.
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Dr. Lois Price Spratlen

When doors were closed to African American nurses in the Puget Sound region, Mrs. Spratlen was not daunted. She has placed into written history the struggle for African American Nurses by publishing a book : “African American Registered Nurses in Seattle: the Struggle for Opportunity and Success.” She gave the proceeds from the Seattle book to the Mary Mahoney Professional Nurses Organization, which she founded to provide scholarships in nursing to Washington state students.

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Mel Streeter

Mr. Streeter never let anyone deter him from his dreams, and he dreamed big, even up until his death. A high school counselor told him he couldn't become an architect because he was black, the Seattle Times reported in a 1996 profile, and he later applied to 22 firms before someone
would hire him.

Mel Streeter and Associates exists to assure that African Americans who want to apply their education and talents to add to the edifices and infrastructures of our world have a
place to come to.

He went on to become one of the first blacks to head an architecture firm in Seattle, designing numerous public buildings. He also was a mentor to younger architects.

"He just refused to let any barriers keep him from doing what he wanted to do, and he taught that to us, myself and my brothers," said Mr. Streeter's son Kurt, a reporter for the Los Angeles Times.

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