The following are short descriptions of the groups and organizations which have contributed to the shaping of African American history. These encyclopedia entries serve as a starting point for much more inclusive descriptions and discussions that appear in other sources. For additional information please consult the print or website sources cited in the entry.
On July 10, 1964, a group of African American men in Jonesboro, Louisiana led by Earnest “Chilly Willy” Thomas and Frederick Douglas Kirkpatrick founded the group known as The Deacons for Defense and Justice to protect members of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) against … Read MoreDeacons for Defense and Justice
Earl Whaley was an alto-saxophone player and bandleader from the San Francisco Bay Area. He moved to Seattle and led one of the first swing bands on the West Coast, The Red Hot Syncopators, who started performing successfully around Seattle at the Broadway and Finnish … Read MoreEarl Whaley Band
Founded in 1903 by J.E. Edwards, Jefferson Lewis Edmunds, and Frederick Roberts, the Los Angeles Forum served as a civil rights organization dedicated to addressing black grievances in Los Angeles, California. Although the organization fell prior to the African American Civil Rights Movement, the activism … Read MoreLos Angeles Forum (1903-1942)
In 1949 Washington State enacted the Fair Employment Practices Act (FEPA) to make discrimination in hiring on the basis of race, creed, color, or national origin illegal. The Washington State Board Against Discrimination (WSBAD) was created as a provision of the act to make sure … Read MoreWashington State Board Against Discrimination
Formed in 1946, the Jackson Street Community Council (JSCC) became the first institutional link between the often divided communities of color in Seattle, Washington. Seattle was strictly segregated at this time, and the JSCC represented part of the Central District (where most of Seattle’s African … Read MoreJackson Street Community Council (1946-1967)
In 1963, prominent Seattle, Washington civil rights leaders united to form the Central Area Civil Rights Committee (CACRC). Members were typically notable figures in other existing groups like the Urban League (Edwin Pratt), CORE (Walter Hundley), and the NAACP (Charles Johnson), although some represented community … Read MoreCentral Area Civil Rights Committee
One of the driving forces of the Civil Rights Movement in Seattle, Washington was the desire to end unfair employment discrimination in the city. The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) was at the forefront of the Seattle struggle to ensure equal employment in the 1960s. … Read MoreDrive for Equal Employment in Downtown Seattle (DEEDS)
In July of 1909, 750 10th Cavalry “Buffalo Soldiers” marched into Vermont for their assignment at Fort Ethan Allen, Colchester, Vermont. Prior to their arrival, they had been stationed in various other locations such as Cuba, Kansas, and the Philippines, all warmer climates. During their … Read MoreBuffalo Soldiers in Vermont (1909-1913)
Fort Davis stands unique among frontier forts in that it became the Regimental Headquarters for all four Buffalo Soldier regiments that served during the last decades of the 19th-century. Troopers of the Ninth Cavalry were the first Buffalo Soldiers to garrison Fort Davis. Arriving in … Read MoreBuffalo Soldiers at Fort Davis, Texas (1867-1885)
Ebony, a pictorial news magazine published by Chicago, Illinois-based Johnson Publishing Company, first appeared in November 1945. Created by John H. Johnson, who modeled his publication after Life magazine, Ebony celebrated African American life and culture by depicting the achievements of black Americans. It honored … Read MoreEbony Magazine
