Washington State University alumnus Robert Gary presented to WSU a bust of black pioneer William Owen Bush during a ceremony March 4 at the Lewis Alumni Centre.
In the early to middle 1800s, when slavery still existed, the West held promise of opportunity for many pioneers. Immigrants flocking to the Pacific Northwest included many black men and their families. Among them was a man named, oddly enough, George W. Bush.
His eldest son was William Owen Bush. In 1889, William Bush was elected to the first state Legislature. One of his greatest accomplishment was in helping pass legislation establishing a college for the study of agricultural science. This college later became Washington State University.
In June of 1987, members of the African American community in Seattle and the Bon Marché department store formed a group whose goal was to find a way to honor early black pioneers of the Pacific Northwest. The result of this collaboration was the creation of a written document and exhibit entitled “Northwest Black Pioneers: A Tribute.” In this exhibit is a bust of William Owen Bush, which caught the eye of WSU’s African American Alumni Alliance and alumnus Robert Gary.
Gary — a track-and-field star who graduated from the College of Education in 1956 and was inducted into the WSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1989 — will present a replica of the bust, on behalf of the Alliance, to the Lewis Alumni Centre.
Gary has assisted WSU in recruiting multicultural students. Besides his membership in the African American Alumni Alliance, he also serves on the Heritage House Committee.
For more information, contact the Office of Human Relations and Diversity at 335-8888.
