Founded in 1977, the Black Heritage Society of Washington State (BHS) has long served as a steward of Black history, ensuring that stories, places, and legacies too often overlooked are documented, honored, and protected. Their recent leadership in securing the landmark designation of The People’s Wall stands as a defining achievement in community‑powered preservation.
Located at 1919 E Spruce Street in the Central District, The People’s Wall borders the former second headquarters of the Seattle Chapter of the Black Panther Party (1969–1971). The concrete retaining wall and its 1970 mural, painted by Dion Henderson, depicts national and local civil‑rights figures. It remains a vivid tribute to the Party’s commitment to community care, self‑determination, and liberation. As the nomination notes, the Wall is “all that physically remains” connecting this site to a pivotal era in Seattle and national civil‑rights history.
Its survival is extraordinary. After multiple FBI raids, the Panthers vacated the building in 1971. The federal government seized and demolished it in 1973. Despite decades of redevelopment and the dramatic displacement of the Central District’s Black community—from over 70% of residents in the 1970s to roughly 10–14% today—the Wall has endured, untouched and never defaced.
To address the underrepresentation of Black heritage sites on Seattle’s Landmarks List, BHS partnered with Historic Seattle in 2023 to deliver a landmark workshop series for emerging Black advocates. In January 2026, BHS representatives and a workshop participant submitted the nomination for The People’s Wall. In June, the Landmarks Preservation Board voted unanimously to designate the wall a city landmark, having met five of six landmark criteria.
This designation protects not only a physical place but the stories, struggles, and triumphs embedded within it. Historic Seattle is honored to celebrate BHS for their dedication to Black cultural preservation and their leadership in shaping a more inclusive and truthful historic landscape for our city.
Header image courtesy of Alex Garland; bottom images courtesy of Carlos Imani, Elite Collective, 2014
