Dr. Nettie Asberry
Influencer. Artist. Activist.
Nettie Asberry was born July 15th, 1865, the year the Civil War ended, weeks after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and lived long enough to watch the news of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination on television. Nettie was one of six children to Violet Craig, the only one born free.
Nettie was bright and talented. At eight years old she started piano lessons, at 13 she became the secretary of a local woman’s suffrage group. In 1883, Nettie received a music degree from the Kansas Conservatory of Music and Elocution in Leavenworth, KS. She was a music instructor and teacher in the all-Black town of Nicodemus, KS, now a National Historic Site in the U.S. National Park Service.
The Many Lives Of Dr. Nettie Asberry
Activist
Nettie helped Tacoma’s established and growing black community to demonstrate activism and meaningful influence on Tacoma’s civic and cultural matters. An important and lasting influence that can be traced back to a letter written in opposition to the history of racism in the United States, which was reprinted and borrowed from in protests across the country. It was written and signed by Nettie Asberry
Organizer
In the early 1900s, Nettie began traveling across the state of Washington, encouraging diverse groups of black folk to organize into clubs to voice their causes influenced by the teachings of Booker T. Washington. The Washington State Federation of Colored Women was created in 1917, and Nettie became its president.
Artist
Nettie was bright and talented. At eight years old she started piano lessons. Nettie worked as a music teacher, an organist, and a music director. Nettie was one of Tacoma’s most respected artists and teachers. She held an arts degree and studied music composition at the Kansas Conservatory of Music and Elocution.
Influencer
In 1913 Nettie founded the Tacoma Chapter of the NAACP, cited in the organization’s magazine Crisis, as the first chapter west of the Mississippi River. She was an activist in the suffrage movement gaining women, including black women, the right to vote in Washington State in 1910, a decade before the passage of the 19th amendment nationwide.
History of Dr. Asberry
Establishing and growing black community
Nettie moved to Seattle, where she worked as a music teacher, an organist, and a music director. After her first husband’s death, Nettie moved to Tacoma where she lived for 75 years. Most of them in her home at 1219 South 13th in the hilltop neighborhood. She remarried to Henry Asberry.
Together, Nettie and Henry turned their house into a home for the community. Nettie taught music to children, and formed a music club to foster a culture of music appreciation in Tacoma’s youth.
In the early 1900s, Nettie traveled across the state of Washington, influenced by the teachings of Booker T. Washington, and encouraged diverse groups of black communities to organize into clubs to voice their causes. In 1917 The Washington State Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs was created, and Nettie became its president.
Nettie was one of Tacoma’s most respected artists and teachers. She held an arts degree and studied music composition at the Kansas Conservatory of Music and Elocution.
In 1913 Nettie founded the Tacoma Chapter of the NAACP, cited in the organization’s magazine Crisis, as the first chapter west of the Mississippi River. She was an activist in the suffrage movement gaining women, including black women, the right to vote in Washington State in 1910, a decade before the passage of the 19th amendment nationwide.
Nettie was also an accomplished speaker and performing artist. During the fight to pass women’s suffrage in Washington State in 1910, Nettie Asberry remained vigilant in protecting the language that included women of color. In her spirit, she still protects that language today.
Nettie helped Tacoma’s established and growing black community to demonstrate activism and meaningful influence on Tacoma’s civic and cultural matters. An important and lasting influence that can be traced back to a letter written in opposition to the history of racism in the United States, which was reprinted and borrowed from in protests across the country. It was written and signed by Nettie Asberry.
Help carry on the spirit of Nettie Asberry through financial support of the Asberry Historic Site.