Dianne P. Robinson
Founder of the Black Historical Society of Kitsap County. Photo and write-up from the Black History Committee’s 1985 publication “A Story Untold: Bremerton Celebrates Over 100 Years of Black History.”
Dianne P. Robinson, a native of Pensacola, Florida, moved to Bremerton, Washington in 1966 with her husband who was at that time serving in the U.S. Navy and stationed at PSNS, Bremerton. She was employed at the Naval Undersea Warfare Engineering Station (NUWES), Keyport since 1967 and besides her work, has been involved in various community activities. She is a member and treasurer of the Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church, an executive board member of NAACP, a member of the NACW, and involved in the Equal Employment Opportunity program at NUWES and other community activities. She has always been a dedicated community worker and interested in community affairs. Her main interest lies in the past and how the Kitsap County Community started, especially the influence Blacks had in forming and developing it. When she tried to look up the Black history of this area, she soon found that there was only very limited information available and that not many records or archives had been kept concerning the Blacks of Kitsap County.
Photo Credit: Kitsap Daily News
Based on this, she decided to start research on the Black History of Kitsap County on her own and has been steadily working on it for two years. In a very early stage of her research, she found that Blacks had been in this area since the 1800s, the early establishment of this community, and this encouraged her to work even harder in gathering bits and pieces of information in her spare time. Mrs. Robinson drives almost daily to various resources, such as libraries, historical societies, and federal archives in Bremerton, Seattle, and Tacoma. She does oral interviews with elders of this community whenever possible and is constantly on the phone calling various resources for information. She has made many trips in and out of the county and has attended seminars on researching, writing and publishing local history.
She has worked faithfully and hard to provide Kitsap County with a true and accurate record of Black contributions to this community, and has often found her research work rewarding in itself.
The Kitsap County Black History Committee, which was formed when
she realized that the task she had undertaken was too much for one person, has assisted Mrs. Robinson in many areas of her work. Together they work with the hope and trust that, thus, they may be able to make a significant and important contribution to their community.
In dedication to Black History Month, Dianne Robinson and the Kitsap County Black History Committee would like to once more quote the words of Carter G. Woodson, the founder of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History:
“If a race has no history, it has no worthwhile tradition. It becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world and stands in danger of being terminated.”
Museum note: Dianne Robinson’s research led to the founding of the Black Historical Society of Kitsap County in 1982. She later served on the Bremerton City Council and, after retiring, returned to her hometown of Pensacola, Florida.