uok_2018_001.xml Reverend Samuel B. McKinney collection, 1892-2018 McKinney [Reverend Samuel B.] collection, 1892-2018 Finding aid prepared by Jade D'Addario Seattle Public Library, Special Collections 2021
1000 4th Ave. Seattle, WA 98104 Business Number: 206-386-4636 specialcollections@spl.org https://www.spl.org/programs-and-services/arts-and-culture/special-collections

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 This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2024-07-27. Description is written in: English, Latin script. Finding aid based on DACS (Describing Archives: A Content Standard), 2nd Edition. Seattle Public Library, Special Collections Reverend Samuel B. McKinney collection McKinney, Lora-Ellen 2018-001 5.4 linear feet 8 boxes, 1 oversize folder 1892-2018 This collection includes materials related to Reverend Samuel B. and Louise McKinney as well as Mt. Zion Baptist Church where Samuel McKinney served as pastor for over 40 years. English .

This collection was compiled by Lora-Ellen McKinney, daughter of Reverend Samuel McKinney and Louise McKinney. Samuel McKinney (1926-2018) was pastor of Mt. Zion Baptist Church and a major leader in Seattle's civil rights movement. McKinney was born in Flint, Michigan and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He served in the Air Force during World War II and in 1949 graduated from Morehouse College where one of his classmates was Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1952, he graduated from Colgate Rochester Divinity School and in 1953 married his wife Louise McKinney. Together the couple moved to Seattle in 1958 where McKinney became the pastor of Mt. Zion Baptist Church. McKinney was a tireless advocate for social and civil rights causes. He was one of the founders of the Seattle Opportunities Industrialization Center, an organization providing job training; helped start Seattle's first Black-owned bank to help community members obtain home loans after discrimination from other banks; advocated for Seattle's fair housing act as a member of the Seattle Human Rights Commission and participated in civil rights marches and demonstrations nationwide.

McKinney served as the pastor at Mt. Zion, one of Seattle's oldest and most prominent Black churches for over 40 years. Mt. Zion was founded in 1890 with parishioners originally meeting in their own homes. The Church moved locations several times before settling at its current location at 19th Ave. and E. Madison St. in 1918. A new church building was constructed on the site in 1920. The church saw significant membership growth during World War II when Seattle's Black community grew rapidly due to the abundance of wartime jobs offered in the area. Over the years additional structures were added to house the Church's growing congregation including an Educational Unit in 1963 and a new Sanctuary with African-inspired designs in 1975. In 2018, Mt. Zion Baptist Church was designated as a historic landmark by the City of Seattle.

This collection includes materials related to the McKinney family and Mt. Zion Baptist Church. The collection is divided into series including biographical materials for Samuel and Louise McKinney, as well as Mt. Zion annual reports, event ephemera, memorial service programs, property history documents and landmark status applications, periodicals such as the Church's Zionews, and photographs. The bulk of the original materials are from the 1980s through 2010s. Photocopies and printouts of older materials such as family photographs are also included. Correspondence between Samuel McKinney and Martin Luther King, Jr. as well as photographs are of particular note.

This collection is arranged alphabetically by series based on material type. Within each series, materials are arranged alphabetically and then chronologically if needed.

Selected items from this collection have been digitized and made available online: https://cdm16118.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16118coll37/search/searchterm/spl_bch_sm*

This collection includes photocopies of personal materials still held in by the McKinney family as well as printed records from resources like the Puget Sound Regional Archives, HistoryLink and other historical institutions.

Donated by Lora-Ellen McKinney in 2018.

Collection is open and available for use.

Copyright restrictions apply.

[ITEM DESCRIPTION], Reverend Samuel B. McKinney collection. Seattle Public Library, Seattle, WA.

Acknowledgement of Harmful Content The Seattle Public Library Special Collections Department is committed to creating an inclusive archive that documents the history of our diverse communities in a respectful manner. Our collections include historic materials that may contain images and outdated language which can be harmful due to issues such as racism, colonialism, sexism and homophobia. This content can provide important insight into the creator and context of the historic materials but can also reveal hurtful biases and prejudices.

We may decide to use or retain harmful language in our description when the terms have been used by the creator(s) of the materials to describe themselves or their community; when we have reused description created by the donor; when we have transcribed information directly from the materials; and when using national standards such as Library of Congress Subject Headings, which allow for standardized searching and retrieval of records. When including language from the original material in our finding aids or descriptions, we will indicate that this material comes directly from the original item by putting the language in quotes or prefacing it with a note that says the description is transcribed from the item or provided by the creator.

We will continually review our finding aids to identify harmful language and encourage you to contact us at specialcollections@spl.org if you find language that causes concern.

 McKinney, Samuel Berry, 1926- McKinney, Louise Jones, 1930-2012 Mount Zion Baptist Church (Seattle, Wash.) African American clergy--Washington (State)--Seattle African American clergy--Retirement--Washington (State)--Seattle African American Baptists--Washington (State)--Seattle Spouses of clergy--Washington (State)--Seattle Baptists--Washington (State)--Seattle African Americans Civil Rights Religion Women Seattle Annual reports Church Women United (CWU) 1995-1996 1 1 Mt. Zion Baptist Church 2007 1 2 Mt. Zion Credit Union 1988 1 3 NW Baptist Federal Credit Union 2001-2002 2008 1 4 Artwork Reverend McKinney and Mt. Zion painting [copy] undated 1 5 Biographical materials Louise McKinney 1988-2012 1 6 Louise McKinney memorial service photobook 2012 8 (Oversize) 1 Louise and Samuel McKinney – Tribute song lyrics 1998 1 7 McKinney Family – Gift to MOHAI Undated 1 8 Samuel McKinney – Address list 1926-2017 1 9 Samuel McKinney – Awards and honors 1999-2007 1 10 Samuel McKinney – Biographies 1998 2018 1 11 Samuel McKinney – Certificate of Appreciation United States Veteran 2015 November 8 8 (Oversize) 2 Samuel McKinney – Civil Rights History Project, Interview for National Museum of African-American History (NMAAH) and Library of Congress (LOC) 2013 April 17 1 12 Samuel McKinney – Dedication of 19th Ave. b/w Union and Madison photobook 2014 8 (Oversize) 3 Samuel McKinney – Memorial Materials and Obituary 2018 April 1 13 Samuel McKinney – Memorial Service flyer 2018 May 8 8 (Oversize) 4 Samuel McKinney – Silver Jubilee Booklet 1983 February 1 14 Samuel McKinney – "We're Not in Heaven Yet" Biography by Legacy Washington 2016 1 15 Correspondence Aaron Williams to Mt. Zion members 2012 December 12 1 16 Charles M. Stokes to Leo Ward 1958 December 16 1 17 Greg Nickels to Iva Carruthers 2005 December 1 8 (Oversize) 5 Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. to Samuel McKinney 2015 October 7 1 18 Joe Samuel Ratliff to Samuel McKinney 2015 October 8 1 19 Samuel McKinney Christmas Card 2016 1 20 Samuel McKinney to/from Martin Luther King, Jr. 1959 September 25-1961 May 2 1 21 Event ephemera 81st Annual Women's Convention, National Baptist Convention Highlights 1982 September 7-12 2 1 American Baptist Women's Ministries 1992 2 2 Black History 2015 DVD 2015 2 3 Groundbreaking Ceremony for Mt. Zion Senior Housing 1997 May 25 2 4 King County Logo Unveiling – Ron Sims talking points 2007 March 11 2 5 Mt. Zion 30th Pastoral Anniversary program 1988 February 12-14 2 6 Mt. Zion 40th Pastoral Anniversary / Retirement Celebration for Samuel and Louise McKinney 1998 2 7 Mt. Zion 54th Women Ministries Weekend 1996 March 17-19 2 8 Mt. Zion 55th Annual Women's Ministries Week 1997 March 10-16 2 9 Mt. Zion 90th Anniversary Celebration 1980 October - November 2 10 Mt. Zion 100th Birthday Celebration for Mittie Palmer Alonzo 2010 May 29 2 11 Mt. Zion Annual Men's Series 2001 October 8-10 2 12 Mt. Zion Brotherhood's 7th Annual Lecture Series 1965 October 18-22 2 13 Mt. Zion Dedication Ceremony Invitation 1975 October 26 2 14 Mt. Zion Father's Day program 2012 June 17 2 15 Mt. Zion First Workers Training Conference 1958 November 9 8 (Oversize) 6 Mt. Zion Graduate Recognition Day program 2012 June 10 2 16 Mt. Zion Homecoming program 2005 September 18 2 17 Mt. Zion Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration script 1998 January 2 18 Mt. Zion Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Remembrance program 2018 April 4 2 19 Mt. Zion Mothers' Day program 2007 May 13 2 20 Mt. Zion Official Banquet pamphlet [copy] 1947 January 24 2 21 Mt. Zion Pastor Emeritus Sunday program 2015 October 18 2 22 Mt. Zion Services of Consecration in Celebration of the Dedication of the New Sanctuary 1975 October 26-31 2 23 Mt. Zion Women's Ministries Womens' Day program 1998 March 9-15 2 24 Mt. Zion Ordination Service for the Diaconate Class of 2007 2007 November 11 2 25 Mt. Zion Pastoral Installation Service for Rev. Aaron Williams 2008 July 20 2 26 Mt. Zion Seattle Alliance of Black School Educators Annual Recognition and Awards Program 2004 June 15 2 27 Mt. Zion Senior Ministry Luncheon Honoring Mt. Zion's Elders program 2010 June 27 2 28 Mt. Zion Senior Ministry Luncheon Honoring Mt. Zion's Elders Honoring Centenarians and Nonagenarians program 2012 June 24 2 29 Mt. Zion Senior Usher Ministry 50th Anniversary Souvenir Book 1998 October 25 2 30 Mt. Zion South Africa Tour memos and agenda 1996 2 31 Mt. Zion wedding of Stacy Davis and Lawrence Owen III program 2005 July 24 3 1 Mt. Zion Woman of Excellence Award – Mittie Alonz 2009 3 2 Mt. Zion Women's Ministries All Committee Workshop manual 1992 3 3 Mt. Zion Women's Ministries Dinner Meeting program 1997 June 24 3 4 Mt. Zion Worship Service flyer Undated 3 5 Mt. Zion Worship Service program 1975 November 9 3 6 Mt. Zion Worship Service program 2017 September 3 3 7 North Pacific Baptist Convention Annual Fellowship Breakfast program 1993 September 7 3 8 Nordstrom Celebrates Black History Month flyer [appearance by Samuel McKinney] [?] February 21 3 9 Seafair program [Samuel McKinney included on pg. 13, SeaFair Royalty] 2003 3 10 Sense of Place: Through the Lens of Al Smith flyer 2018 March-May 3 11 Historical essays HistoryLink: Mt. Zion Baptist Church 2016 3 12 History of the Central Area 2009 3 13 Financial documents Mt. Zion Baptist Church 2008 3 14 Mt. Zion Baptist Women's Ministries 1993 3 15 Mt. Zion Baptist Women's Ministries 1995 3 16 Mt. Zion Naomi Circle receipts 1982-1984 3 17 Legal documents House Bill 1918 2019 March 3 18 Laverne Hall v. Mt. Zion Baptist Church 2000 3 19 Membership documents Mt. Zion membership roster circa 2002 3 20 Mt. Zion posting of nominee names for church positions 2010 January 22 8 (Oversize) 7 Memorial programs Allen, Rilla Louise 2002 March 3 21 Archie, Rosemary Lola 2003 December 12 3 22 Bailey, Alfred Francis 2011 June 4 3 23 Bass, Earl Porter 2010 3 24 Brooks, Deacon Lawrence D. Undated 3 25 Brooks, Ruth 1993 January 27 3 26 Brown, Deacon Tom Undated 3 27 Buchanan, Nancy Lee Smith 2004 September 25 3 28 Buffington, Fannie May (Miller-Jones) 1988 November 27 3 29 Chase, Nellie 2005 August 20 3 30 Cole, Andrew 1975 January 23 3 31 Cole, Emma Lee 2003 November 21 3 32 Colman, Betty 2003 April 3 33 Crawley, Cynthia 1985 March 13 3 34 Curry, Freddie Louise 2016 October 1 3 35 Davis, Geraldine 1981 October 2 3 36 Dawson, Gertrude E. 2009 May 23 3 37 Dean, Frederick William 2007 February 26 3 38 Douglas, Earley A. 1992 August 26 3 39 Ervin, Christene Rosetti Griffin 2007 December 14 4 1 Ervine, Carl Wayne 2011 July 9 4 2 Florant, June Elizabeth 2008 September 4 4 3 Francois, Lola Hewitt 2000 August 31 4 4 Franklin, Benjamin 2003 June 16 4 5 Franklin, Charlene Ervin undated 4 6 Fullen-Collins, Marilyn K. 2010 November 30 4 7 Gallerson, Clem L. 2005 February 26 4 8 Galewood, Voughncella Lowery 2006 March 10 4 9 Givens, Anita "Nita" Marie 2008 November 30 4 10 Graham, Rev. Michael Eugene 2007 June 1 4 11 Gray, Deacon Gerald 2005 August 31 4 12 Gray, Willie "Woody," Jr. 2006 December 6 4 13 Green, Franklin Joseph 2010 4 14 Harrell, Clayton E., Sr. 2003 October 9 4 15 Harrell, Rose Tamaye 2014 October 22 4 16 Harris, Deacon Angelee 2012 November 21 4 17 Harris, Deacon Dewitt, Sr. 2010 May 21 4 18 Harris, Mable Leola 1992 January 3 4 19 Hatter, Nora Lee 2000 December 29 4 20 Henry, Deacon Raymond William 2011 June 14 4 21 Hollins, Vera 2005 November 26 4 22 Howard, Jesse, Jr. 2008 July 16 4 23 Howard, Louise Odell Tillman 2001 January 4 24 Howell, Adell Ford 2004 June 4 4 25 Jackson, Evelyn Juanita Horton 2011 September 10 4 26 Jenkins, Henry Vernon 2015 July 4 4 27 Johnson, Dorothy 2011 May 21 4 28 Johnson, John S. 2015 July 28 4 29 Kelsie, Van Oswell 2011 July 9 4 30 Larry, Dr. Clarence (Pete 2015 August 11 4 31 Latten, Christine Ellington 2004 March 27 4 32 Levias, Vernilla Irvine 1999 February 26 4 33 Long, Rev. Roy L., Sr. 2014 September 12 4 34 McDonnal, Joseph Edward 2011 February 10 4 35 McFarlin-Smith, Sharon Joy 2007 July 13 4 36 Morrow, Gladys Mae 1988 November 26 4 37 Newton, Alberta B. 2002 February 23 4 38 Pegues, Thelma Pauline 2012 May 26 4 39 Peoples, Steven Michael 2005 September 4 40 Smith, Beatrice 2010 September 17 4 41 Taylor, Iona 2002 4 42 Taylor, Larry A. 2007 October 13 4 43 Thomas, Frank (Tommy) 2002 March 11 4 44 Tucker, Minnie O. 2005 October 8 4 45 Upshaw, Cora Clementine Jones 2006 August 30 4 46 Upshaw, Ruby Mae 2006 January 26 4 47 Waggener, Gloria Jewel 1989 December 23 4 48 Walden, Gladys V. 1979 July 12 4 49 Ward, Forrest 2015 June 19 4 50 Ward, Oreba Collins 2015 March 11 4 51 Washington, James W., Jr. 2000 June 14 4 52 Washington, Janie Rogella 2000 September 16 4 53 Washington, Marvelle M. 2018 August 18 4 54 Williams, Audrey Mae 2015 December 29 4 55 Williams, Bertha 2017 January 9 4 56 Williams, Irene Virginia Hardin 2007 August 4 4 57 Wilson, Doris Ann Sutherland 2006 September 6 4 58 Winston, Klara Mae 2003 April 4 4 59 Winston, Roy 2003 June 28 4 60 Woodhouse, Donald "Woody," 2006 November 18 4 61 Wright, Andria Martin 2008 May 8 4 62 Minutes Mt. Zion All Church Meeting 2008 September 26 5 1 Mt. Zion Naomi Circle 1979 May 9 - 1984 October 23 5 2 Mt. Zion Naomi Circle 1981 April 8 - 1982 December 31 5 3 Mt. Zion Naomi Circle 1981 October 2 - 1988 January 26 5 4 Mt. Zion Naomi Circle 1985 - 1996, Undated 5 5 Mt. Zion Naomi Circle 1994 March 9 - 1997 January 5 6 Mt. Zion Woman's Organization agenda 1986 December 30 5 7 Newsletters Aegis Living "Happenings" 2018 February 5 8 American Baptist Women's Ministries 1994 February 5 9 "From the Pastor's Study" by Samuel McKinney 1995 December 17 5 10 Periodicals Cayton's Weekly Mt. Zion feature [copy] 1920 May 22 5 11 Madison Park Times "Mount Zion church builds low-income housing" 1998 February 2 1 (Flat Oversize) 1 The Medium "We Salute Mount Zion Baptist Church, 1890 – 1975, 85 years of progress" 1975 October 22 1 (Flat Oversize) 1 Pacific Magazine "Marching On: Seattle's Black Community has a Collection of Doers Leading the Way" (McKinney on cover.) 1985 January 20 8 (Oversize) 8 Seattle Magazine [McKinney included in "City Shapers" article on pg. 64] 2003 December 5 12 Seattle Post-Intelligencer "Central Area Sees a Dark Jesus 1975 November 8 8 (Oversize) 9 Seattle Post-Intelligencer "Church Looks Back, Ahead" [copy] 1965 November 4 5 13 Seattle Times "A Fighter for Fairness in a Fair Northern City" [Samuel McKinney feature] [copy] 1993 April 2 5 14 Seattle Times "Embattled Pastor Steps Down at Mount Zion Baptist Church"; "Local" article re: #MeToo and Mt. Zion [copies] 2017 August 25 2018 October 17 5 15 Seattle Times "Making Strides in Seattle with Selma in her heart" [Josephine Stratman Stokes feature] 2005 February 15 1 (Flat Oversize) 1 The Source "Church Council sponsors special preview" [of Black Nativity] 1998 December 1 (Flat Oversize) 1 Zionews 1988 February 14 8 (Oversize) 10 Zionews 2003 July 5 16 Zionews 2006 June 5 17 Zionews 2006 September 5 18 Zionews 2007 March 5 19 Zionews 2007 April 5 20 Zionews 2007 May 5 21 Zionews 2007 October 5 22 Zionews 2007 November 5 23 Zionews 2008 January 5 24 Zionews 2008 March 6 1 Zionews 2008 May 6 2 Zionews 2008 October 6 3 Zionews 2008 November 6 4 Zionews 2008 December 6 5 Zionews 2009 February 6 6 Zionews 2009 March 6 7 Zionews 2009 April 6 8 Zionews 2009 July 6 9 Zionews 2009 August 6 10 Zionews 2010 December 6 11 Zionews 2011 February 6 12 Zionews 2011 December 6 13 Zionews 2012 June 6 14 Zionews 2015 February 6 15 Zionews 2016 September 6 16 Photographs "Congregation just after morning worship" [copy] Undated 6 17 Dr. Calhoun [copy] Undated 6 18 Fred Hutchinson Directors' Forum [includes Samuel McKinney] 1986 August 6 19 Mayor Durkan signing Mt. Zion Landmark documents [copy] 2018 6 20 McKinney Family [originals and copies] 1974; 1999; Undated 1999 6 21 Mt. Zion Baptist Church [originals and copies] Undated 6 22 Mt. Zion Baptist Church groundbreaking 1962 April 28 6 23 Mt. Zion Usher Board w/ Rev. F. Benjamin Daois circa 1950 8 (Oversize) 11 Samuel and Louise McKinney with Roy Wilkins [copy] circa 1960s 6 24 Samuel McKinney and Martin Luther King, Jr. [copies] 1961 6 25 Seattle Room McKinney display circa 2018 6 26 Property history Documents City of Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board Agenda 2017 October 18 8 (Oversize) 12 Mt. Zion Building Permits 1895-1988 7 1 Mt. Zion City Landmark Ordinance 2018 June 7 2 Mt. Zion Data Collection and Display Form 1993 March 31 7 3 Mt. Zion Deeds 1918 7 4 Mt. Zion Historic Landmark Nominations for City and National Register 2017 March 7 5 Mt. Zion King County Parcel Viewer information 2016 7 6 Mt. Zion Powerpoint presented at Governor's Advisory Council on Historic Preservation circa 2015 7 7 Mt. Zion Property Record Cards [1604-1647 19th Ave.] 1937 7 8 Mt. Zion Washington Heritage Register of Historic Places Certificate 2018 March 8 7 9 Renton Hill Addition Plat Map 1892 November 7 7 10 Publications Mt. Zion Songs of our Faith and Heritage circa 1997 7 11 Mt. Zion "Vision 21st Century" 2004 May 9 7 12 Mt. Zion Volunteer Handbook 2008 7 13 Mt. Zion "What a Fellowship! What a Joy Divine!" circa 1980 7 14 Mt. Zion Women's Baptist Mission Yearbook 1970-1971 7 15 Mt. Zion Women's Baptist Mission Yearbook 1985-1986 7 16 Mt. Zion Women's Baptist Mission Yearbook 1994-1996 7 17 Mt. Zion Women's Baptist Mission Yearbook 2003-2005 7 18 "Steal away to Jesus – Negro Baptists in the U.S." Wade Hampton McKinney postcard 2012 7 19 Washington – Northern Idaho Church Women United 1996-1997 7 20 Black Nativity program and DVD 2007 7 21