Enlightened Free Thinking Nubian Kings And Queens

John T. Gayton, one of Seattle’s earliest black residents, a community leader, and patriarch of one of the city’s most outstanding black families, came to Seattle in 1889.  He was born in Benton, Mississippi to former slaves.  With little formal education, he moved to Yazoo City, Mississippi, and made the fortuitous decision to work for a physician, Dr. Henry Yandell, as servant and coachman.  It brought him to Seattle when Dr. Yandell joined the movement to the new state of Washington.    Soon after his arrival in Seattle, he tried his hand as a painter, painting contractor, barber, and bellboy.  He worked as a waiter at the Arctic Club and later at the Rainier Club, where he was promoted to head waiter.  In 1901 he became the first black steward at the Rainier Club, overseeing the servants and the preparation of food.   Before long, he was called upon to cater large parties and banquets.  He also catered every day for a downtow...

     Sue Bertha Coleman's mother was working as a cook for a Huntsville, Alabama family when she decided her daughter should have a college education, something few Alabama women received at the turn of the century.      Coleman graduated from Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. She began her career as principal of a Tennessee Coal and Iron Company (TCI) school at Muscoda, a large ore mining camp near Bessemer, Alabama. At the end of her third year, she remained on the company's payroll to conduct social work, Coleman was designated as a community supervisor in charge of social services for black miners and their families. Initiative and dedication set her apart from her peers. In 1918, she borrowed $300 from a bank, left her husband in charge of their children, and went to Chicago to study with Jane Addams, the most noted social worker of the day.      On her return, Coleman took over a schedule of regular weekly duties at the "Co...