Portland observer., September 21, 1978, Page 3, Image 3

Portland Observer Thursday, September 21, 1978 Page 3
ftotíkuMt 'Junikf ScMfM,
M ay, 1967, Two years later, the
Board of Park Commissioners for­
mally adopted the recommendation
of the Seattle Model Cities Program
to name the foimer Garfield running
track Powell Barnett Park, because
of his long and devoted service as a
citizen of the Pacific Northwest.
The Barnetts had countless friends
and wcllwishers. Although Mrs.
Barnett had been confined to a
wheelchair her las' eight years, her
husband not only cared for her but
remained active in the community.
They owned their home and some
rental property in a predominantly
Black neighborhood. Although
Powell fought for the right of Black
people to live wherever they could
afford to buy, he never sought to
movie. “ The reason is simple” he
said with a smile. “ I never could af­
ford to move.”
by Beth P. Wilson
The morning of May 16, 1967, the
front page o f the Seattle Times
carried portrait pictures of General
Charles D eG aulle, President o f
France and Powell S. Barnett, an 84-
year-old
citizen
of
Seattle,
Washington. Barnett, a Black nan
with little formal education, had just
received Seattle-King C ounty's
Senior Citizen Award of the year.
This distinct honor came to n man
who had served as early-morning
maintenance man at King County
courthouse for seventeen years prior
to his official retirement at age 71.
Ironically, some of the men he had
admired and looked up to during
those years were also in competition
for the honor. Other high officials,
long impressed with his character
and community service, had backed
his nomination.
This seemed a fitting climax to
years o f “ giving” by this short,
cocoa-colored man with white hair
and liquid-bulging eyes. The day
before, he stood with family and city
officials in the mayor's office. With
shoulders slightly bent, he listened to
the words of commendation. Then
his eyes flashed and a ready smile
rented comfortably over his face.
Soon Powell Barnett's name
reached the State Council on Aging
so that he might be considered for
the State’s Senior Citizen o f the
Year Award. In due time, he received
a certificate as second-place winner
at ceremonies in Olympia, the state
capital.
What of this man, Powell S. Bar­
nett, you may ask? How could a
small Black boy in the United States
of America parlay an eighth grade
education into such distinguished
recognition? A
look at his
background may clarify the picture.
Born in Brazil. Indiana in 1883,
Powell was the son o f a former
Virginia slave person and the oldest
of four children. His mother had
passed away when he was four years
old. after which his father, a coal
miner, moved the family to the little
town o f Roslyn, Washington in
1889. The children lived with first
one fam ily then another, as it
became impossible for Mr. Barnett
to work long hours in the mines and
care for his children.
“ One of the happiest moments in
my life" recalled Powell “ was when
we were introduced to our step­
mother and we children were
reunited with our father. Although
strict and demanding respect, he was
so kind that we knew he loved us. He
formed a family council and when
problems arose, we would sit down
and talk through solutions, at dinner
or early in the evening. Our step­
mother was a fine woman and always
fair with us.”
Powell attended a free, mixed
public school in Roslyn. When not
picking a fight, he could always be
found in the school library with a
book in his hand. Math didn’t in­
terest him but he loved to read. He
often picked up a dictionary, just to
check new words. Once home, he
would run for the newspaper as soon
as it was delivered and read until told
to stop. He decided early that the
smartest man in this small mining
town o f about 3,000 people were
lawyers. And that’s what he would
become — a lawyer!
A fte r com pleting elementary
school, Powell began working eight
hours a day in the mines. Not long
afterward, his sister passed away and
the two younger boys joined him in
the mines. The three brothers
worked with their father in d rift
mines, high up in the mountain.
“ Sometimes we worked as high as
the seventh level. We kept a family
pot — a fruit jar in the pantry —
where our earnings were placed the
first o f each month. We could take
money as we needed it or as we saw
fit. This honor system worked well
and became a unifying factor in our
household.”
M r. Barnett had many discussions
with his sons about life in general.
He prepared them by saying that it
would not be easy; there might be
some pretty rough spots. He once
told them the hardest thing he ever
experienced was being forced to
stand back, as an eleven-year-old
slave boy, while an overseer beat his
mother. The room grew still and
Powell dropped his head. Then his
eyes lifted to the walls o f their small,
four-room frame house and through
the window to the unpaved street.
Right then Powell knew that he
would have to work hard to help
make the world a better place for
everybody.
William E. Derry, president of Jackson Street Com-
munity Council; Attorney William J. Wong, award chair-
Powell thought many Blacks
struggled with an unnecessary in­
feriority complex. " I have never had
a negative complex about anything,
particularly about being Black. I
have never expected anyone to give
me anything just as I do not expect to
be denied the opportunity to which
every man is entitled.”
When asked about the present
crisis in our country, shortly before
his passing in 1971, he replied,
“ There are still countless men of
determination, dedicated to the prin­
ciples on which this nation was
founded. The present condirion will
pass, as have others before it, and we
will build a bigger, better and more
responsive nation than ever before.”
Powell S. Barnett did not lose
faith in the American dream — will
you?
man, Powell S. Barnett (81) Council Man of the Year
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Powell S. Barnett, 85, receives congratulations on Good Citizens Award (1968).
At night, after working long hours
in the mines, he would read until he
fell asleep from sheer exhaustion. At
times, when the work was not so
demanding, he would go home, wash
up, go out to play ball, then return
home and read. Powell loved
baseball and played until he was
about 22 years old. He also loved
music and played in Roslyn’s brass
band.
A bout this tim e, Powell met
Katherine C onna, an attractive
young girl from a highly-respected
pioneer
fam ily
in
Tacom a,
Washington, some one hundred and
twenty-five miles away. It was love at
first sight! “ I couldn’t get her o ff my
mind. Seattle and Tacoma were only
a few miles apart. Why couldn’t I
move to Seattle? I got to reading the
Seattle newspapers in Roslyn and I
thought, why those fellows over in
the big city can’t be any smarter than
I am. I ’m going over and get a jo b .”
Soon he made the move. And
before long, he married Katherine
Conna. Together, they reared six
bright, ambitious children, all o f
whom completed high school, the
boys learning a trade or skill as well.
Except for one daughter, who
preferred to be a homemaker, they
secured good positions or went into
business for themselves. Powell Bar­
nett, proud of the achievements of
his offspring, evidenced mixed pride
and concern for one. This son,
Doug, in African garb, opened Seat­
tle’s “ Black Theatre,” magnetized
by one Le Roi Jones, now Imamu
Amiri Baraka. Mrs. Barnett didn’t
ever work outside the home, so for
the fam ily head, rearing these
children meant hard work, deter­
m ination and the fading o f his
"lawyer’s dream.”
“ Instead, 1 started working in
Seattle as a laborer, paving streets.
Then worked as a sub-foreman for a
large construction firm, supervising
fifteen to twenty men. Although long
hours were spent on the job, my pay
was not equal to that o f others doing
similar work. And many times it
became necessary to patch up work
done by white men or turn my head
to avoid a confrontation.” Later,
Powell went into business, forming
his own transfer company, Barnett &
Sons, which he operated for twelve
years.
During the depression, when the
Unemployed Citizens’ League came
into being, Powell became a paid
staff worker. He served as chairman
of the executive committee for two
years. “ Demanding an end to
favoritism in distribution o f sup­
plies, I soon.earned the confidences
of both Black and wluie members.
When election time came, they were
willing to trust my judgement regard­
ing office seekers. This pecante my
introduction to politics an. a way to
help poor people.”
In 1937, Powell wen> io work at
King County Courthouse in Seattle.
“ Many times 1 suffered slights and
insults. Like one day in the elevator,
two officials made remarks to the ef­
fect that people like me should learn
to pull themselves up by their
bootstraps. They n< Joubt had
shoes and boots when growing up
while I was lucky to have ragged,
run-over shoes with I oken laces.
And some pretty dirts tricks were
played on me, too. But my father
had told me, ’Always accept a man
for what he is.’ This kept me from
becoming bitter and hating white
people.”
During this period, Powell played
bass horn in the Volunteers ot
America band and organized the
Tenth Division band which received
wide acclaim. The Black musicians’
union sent him as delegate to the
Central Labor Council where he
helped to alleviate hostilities between
the Black and white unions. When
the National Musicians’ Union con­
vened in Chicago, in 1954, Powell
worked around the clock until the
Black and white unions fin ally
merged.
Calls came constantly for him to
help smooth some racial difficulty or
to serve on committees. From 1921
to 1967, Powell helped establish the
East Madison Y .M .C .A ., became
reorganizer and president o f the
Seattle Urban League, founded the
Northwest Umpires’ Association and
served as Secretary-Treasurer for
seventeen years; named treasurer of
King County U.S.O. and served on
the Governor’s Special Committee to
develop a Consumer Protection Act
in 1963. He became a board member
of Lee House for Senior Citizens and
joined the ranks of N .A .A .C .P . Life
members. A highlight in his career
came when, in 1965, his church
presented him with a Certificate of
Recognition for fifty years of active
service.
Powell’s early dream of becoming
a lawyer had crossed his mind from
time to time but he was too busy to
let it linger. Shortly before he retired,
a Federal judge called him to his of­
fice and said, “ Well, M r. Barnett, I
guess you’re in a quandry as to why I
sent for you, but I ’ve been noticing
your work in the community the past
few years. The Grand Jury is about
to convene and I thought I would ask
you to serve on the jury. I can’t force
you to serve because you’ve passsed
your 70th birthday, but I would like
to have you serve.” Powell was
taken back. Then he replied, “ Well,
your honor, Seattle and King County
have been good to me and 1 feel that
anything I can do for my government
I should do willingly. So if you want
me to serve on the Grand Jury, I ’ll be
w illing to do i t . ” The building
superintendent
arranged
for
someone to do Powell’s work while
he met with the jury. During his
term, several members of the Grand
Jury asked him if he were a lawyer.
Powell Barnett had received the
Good Citizen Award, the Annual
Urban League Award, the Man of
the Year Award and others. But
perhaps the most exciting award
came when Leschi School P.T.A and
the Leschi C om m unity Council
planned a combined Negro History
and Brotherhood Week. They felt it
would be more relevant for students
to honor someone from the com­
munity than one from history books.
The students voted for Powell Bar­
nett. A t the school assembly, he
received a surprise presentation of
his photograph from Eric Barnett,
one of his eighteen grandchildren.
The large, framed picture of Powell
S. Barnett now graces the hall at
Leschi School.
All these honors came before the
Seattle Times carried his picture in |
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