Reverend Samuel B. McKinney collection

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.