Manuel Lopes (barber)

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Manuel Lopes was Seattle's first barber' and first Black resident.

Lopes was born in Cape Verde. He became a sailor prior to settling in Massachusetts. In 1858, about seven years after the founding of Seattle, Lopes became the city's first Black resident. He supported himself by becoming Seattle’s first barber. In the early 1870s, Lopes eventually moved to Port Townsend, Washington in search of work. Thus, he also became the first Black resident to leave Seattle.