James W. Washington Jr. was a genius among us.  Dr. Washington was born and raised in Gloster, Mississippi, and came to Seattle with his wife Janie to work in the shipyards as part of the WW II war effort.  James was a renaissance man, with a wide variety of talents and interests; besides his mechanical and industrial capabilities, he was a prolific painter and sculptor, becoming an eminent member of the Northwest School of Art, as well as a writer and community activist, with his letters now held at the Smithsonian Institute.

The James & Janie Washington Foundation manage the James and Janie campus which includes their home, personal archives, library, gardens, and studio.  As a house museum, we are in the company of Martin Luther King Jr., Paul Laurence Dunbar and Alex Haley.  Our current projects include:  continuing to improve and preserve the Seattle-landmarked house, grounds and studio of James & Janie Washington; expand the Artist-in-Residence program to include writers; rotating house exhibits; scheduled tours and tours on demand; make available the Washington Library with over 3,000 books and the Washingtons’ personal documents, photographs and African art collection.

We need your support to accomplish the work of preservation, presentation, promotion, interpretation and inspiring others to explore their creativity. 

The Foundation launched our One Million Dollar Campaign on February 26, 2022.  Simply put, we invite you to become “One-in-a-Million who will contribute $1.00 or more to help support the Foundation’s efforts to grow our sustainability and self-sufficiency.  Your contribution of $1.00 or more will allow us to continue bringing life and vitality to the Washingtons’ remarkable legacy; sharing their “creativity with the community” and encouraging “creativity to celebrate community.”  For questions/comments, please contact the Foundation at (206) 709-4241; jjw181626@ao.com.   

Thank you for kind attention.