Tacoma trailblazer Dolores Silas has died. She was first Black woman on City Council
Dolores Silas, a longtime education advocate and the first Black woman on Tacoma City Council, died Saturday. She was 94.
Silas was found unresponsive in her home.
“It was sudden and quite a shock,” said Tami Breckenridge, a close family friend.
Breckenridge said Silas’ friends and relatives are still processing her loss, but they are planning for a public memorial in the next couple of weeks.
Silas’ death came less than a month after Tacoma Public Schools officially changed the name of Woodrow Wilson High School to Dr. Dolores Silas High School. On July 1, members of the public came to celebrate Silas and the name change.
Silas told The News Tribune in February she felt honored by the recognition.
“I am so honored. And so blessed. That is just unbelievable,” she said.
Silas is known for her work at Tacoma Public Schools, on Tacoma City Council, as a community advocate and for breaking glass ceilings for Black women in Tacoma.
Silas served as president of the Tacoma NAACP, elected in 1978, and was recognized by the city of Tacoma with a Lifetime Service Award in 2019.
Silas is also known for her collection of hats — and never being without one.
“There’s a hat for every occasion,” Silas said while donning a pink hat for her interview with The News Tribune in February, over a bowl of her homemade chili.
Silas was born in Indiana in 1926 and attended a boarding school in Kentucky. The school, Lincoln Institute, also known as Lincoln Ridge, was led by Whitney Young Sr., whose son was a prominent civil rights movement leader and director of the National Urban League.
After boarding school, Silas enrolled in Tuskegee University in Alabama. To help afford tuition, she got a job at a foundry — after some initial push back — and was the only woman working there.
“You don’t take no for an answer. If there’s a possibility, you try it,” she said.
Silas graduated from Tuskegee with a bachelor’s degree in 1949. She went on to earn her master’s degree in education from the University of Arizona in 1962 and a doctorate in leadership and human behavior from United States International University in San Diego in 1977, according to News Tribune archives.
When asked why she pursued education, Silas said that at the time there were limited options for Black women.
“Either you’re a nurse or a teacher,” Silas said. “Well, I can’t stand blood. So that gave me education.”
Silas came to Tacoma in the 1950s for a teaching job. She was the third Black teacher hired by Tacoma Public Schools and was on the staff at Lister Elementary, according to News Tribune archives.
After teaching, she became the first Black administrator with Tacoma Public Schools as a principal at DeLong Elementary.
After nearly 30 years with Tacoma Public Schools, Silas felt it was time to leave.
In 1991, she was appointed to the City Council from a group of 19 applicants to fill the unexpired term of Tom Stenger, who resigned, according to News Tribune archives. She was elected to the seat in the fall, representing Central Tacoma and Hilltop.
One of the first things Silas said she did as a City Council member was challenge her colleagues to walk the streets of Hilltop and compare it to other areas of Tacoma to bring needed attention to the Hilltop area.
Silas served on the council through 1999. She was the first Black woman to serve as a City Council member.
This story was originally published July 26, 2021 at 10:33 AM.
