Spokane residents’ Black history artifacts compiled for new exhibit : ‘Everybody has a piece of history within their own lives’

A former Gonzaga basketball player, a Black newspaper founder, a pastor at the oldest Black church in Washington and others recently brought pieces of Black history to the Carl Maxey Center.

Photos, newspapers, books and other materials were scanned and photographed Oct. 14 at the East Central Spokane center as part of “Community Scanning Day.” The items were then placed into a Spokane Public Library digital archive with the goal of eventually transferring the archive to the Carl Maxey Center.

Larry Cebula, professor of history at EWU, said Spokane has great archives that are fairly diverse, but many include the stories of rich and powerful people. Cebula’s students helped scan items last weekend.

“We’re trying to collect other stories, things that are underrepresented in existing historical collections in Spokane,” Cebula said.

The Spokane Public Library, Carl Maxey Center, Eastern Washington University, Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture and Spokane Historic Preservation Office hosted the event.

Dr. Scott Finnie, senior professor of Africana Studies at EWU, brought in about 20 photos of EWU students participating in graduation and awards ceremonies in the 1990s. Finnie has taught in the Africana Studies program at Eastern since 1992.

A point guard at Gonzaga from 1975-79, Finnie also brought in a photo of himself dribbling past a Weber State player during a home game in Spokane.

Bob Lloyd, founder of the African American Voice, said he handed editions to museums and libraries in the past but wanted them digitized.

“I didn’t want that history to get lost,” Lloyd said.

The Voice was a monthly paper that ran from 1995 to 2001. They distributed about 5,000 papers per month to Spokane, Pullman and Cheney, he said.

Amos Atkinson Jr., program coordinator for business and workforce development at the Carl Maxey Center and pastor at Calvary Baptist Church, brought in historical data, including photos and letters, from the East Central Spokane church. The church was founded in 1890 and is the oldest Black church in the state.

“I think (the event) achieved what it was set out to do, and that was to provide a vehicle for people to bring in their information that they’ve been storing in boxes and drawers or wherever they have been storing their information and to be able to get it archived for them and consolidated so they can have it in one place,” Atkinson said.

Stephaine Courtney, executive director of the Learning Project Network and Shades of Motherhood Network, carried her 2022 children’s book, “Our Community: Black Leaders in Spokane,” to the center.

“That was one of the first pieces that we created that really focused on the visibility of Black community,” Courtney said. “A lot of times in Spokane you will see a ton of people doing great things, but they’re not being reported about.”

Courtney said Black history is important to capture because it’s part of American history.

“If we don’t have everyone represented, then we don’t really know the power of our communities and where we came from and where we’re going,” she said.

Anna Harbine, a curator of archives and special collections at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, said the museum is always excited to support anyone interested in collecting and preserving history.

“We have several Black history collections in our own archive, and we’re just really excited to see what else is out there and how we can help support and get those stories out into the public,” she said.

Harbine said people have their own stories and, often, those stories are not told. Community Scanning Day helped address that.

“History is incredibly personal, and everybody has a story and everybody has a piece of history within their own lives and their own experiences,” she said.

Dana Bronson, archivist and special collections librarian at the Spokane Public Library, said people can continue to bring in materials to be archived. Email Bronson at INSC@spokanelibrary.org to set up a time to scan.