Catch 'Call to Conscience' at Columbia City Theater Before It Closes

As February comes to a close, so does Black History Month. But there's still time to see Call to Conscience — Black History Month Museum, an exhibition set up at the Columbia City Theater, assembled and curated by Rainier Avenue Radio DJ and founder Tony Benton. The vital show has extended its run through Sunday, March 2.

Now in its third year, the exhibition — a guided tour — traces the history, culture, and contributions of Black people in Seattle from a uniquely personal lens. Featuring everything from the Hartsfield Family Enslaved Quilt Collection to a Quincy Jones memorial exhibit (featuring the piano the famous composer-producer-musician first played in Bremerton), this show offers visitors an opportunity to chat with Benton and other visitors about their own histories and understandings of the Black experience.

The Columbia City Theater itself is a testament to Black history. Built in 1917 and at one point operating as an early vaudeville theater in Washington State, it later hosted music greats like Ella Fitzgerald and pre-fame Jimi Hendrix. After many changes of hands over the past few decades, in 2022, Benton's Rainier Avenue Radio teamed up with the Cultural Space Agency to buy the building, marking the first time in the theater's history that it would be Black-owned.

In all of that context, Call to Conscience situates itself among the rich swath of Black history in Seattle. The guided tour first brings visitors outside to admire the theater's botanical mural painted by Moses Sun and consider the mural on the other side of the street on The Royal Room, which displays the names of Black and Brown people murdered by police. Inside — after being greeted by cardboard cutouts of Barack and Michelle Obama — the tour stops at a wall of family photos and memorabilia sent in by previous visitors who'd like to share their family history. The installation also features a book by Benton's mother, Corrine, called The Return to the Promised Land, which traces their family's move from Arkansas out West.

Across several different stopping points, the exhibition explores the role of the Black church, the Seattle Black Panther Party, Benton's personal Blaxploitation film poster collection, Seattle Black firefighters, the plight of Africans in America, and a bit of Tacoma history. Benton worked with various organizations like the Black Panther Party, Seattle Griot Project, the Washington State Black Legacy Institute, and the Black Firefighters Association to get some incredible objects for display, some of which we'll detail below:

Call to Conscience — Black History Month Museum runs through Sunday, March 2. You're encouraged to buy tickets beforehand on the museum's webpage, though walk-ups are welcome. Note: There are many sets of short staircases throughout the tour.