Central Area Committee for Peace and Improvement

African American civil rights and political activists in Seattle had been working throughout the early 1960s to integrate and bring equality to the city’s black population.  By 1967, however, many blacks in Seattle began to criticize integration and the civil rights movement as a whole … Read MoreCentral Area Committee for Peace and Improvement

Central Area School Council (1969-1975)

The Central Area School Council (CASC) was formed in 1969 at a time when community control of public schools was considered by many local activists as a more effective strategy than school integration in improving the performance of African American students.  Activists argued that with … Read MoreCentral Area School Council (1969-1975)

Operation Equity

Although racially restricted housing covenants had been banned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1948, various forms of de facto housing segregation kept African Americans relatively isolated spatially in urban areas, including the city of Seattle.  Many white homeowners in the years following the Court’s … Read MoreOperation Equity

Deacons for Defense and Justice

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

Robert Reed Church, Sr. (1839-1912)

Robert Reed Church, Sr., was a millionaire business leader and philanthropist in Memphis, Tennessee.  Born in Holly Springs, Mississippi, on June 18, 1839, he was the product of an interracial union. His father was a steamboat captain, Charles B. Church, and his mother, Emmeline, was … Read MoreRobert Reed Church, Sr. (1839-1912)