Johanna Phillips

Independent Historian

Johanna (McClees) Phillips is a social studies teacher at Shorecrest High School in Shoreline, Washington. She was the first scholar to pursue research on the local Seattle group, Christian Friends for Racial Equality. Her findings were detailed in her senior thesis. After receiving a B.A. in History, with honors, from the University of Washington, Ms. Phillips earned a Master of Education from The George Washington University in 2002. Her foremost goals are to promote student interest in local history, primary sources, and civil rights issues.

W. Montague Cobb (1904–1990)

Image Ownership: Public Domain William Montague Cobb was born in Washington, D.C. October 12, 1904. He earned his B.A. from Amherst College in 1925 and continued his research in embryology at Woods Hole Marine Biology Laboratory in Massachusetts. Cobb then went to Howard University, and … Read MoreW. Montague Cobb (1904–1990)

J. Ernest Wilkins Jr. (1923-2011)

Image Courtesy of the University of Chicago Jesse Ernest Wilkins, Jr. is often described as one of America’s most important contemporary mathematicians. At 13, he became the University of Chicago’s youngest student. Wilkins continued his studies there, earning bachelor, master, and doctorate degrees in mathematics. When … Read MoreJ. Ernest Wilkins Jr. (1923-2011)

Christian Friends for Racial Equality

Active from 1942 to 1970, the Christian Friends for Racial Equality (CFRE) was a locally founded leader in the Seattle civil rights movement. CFRE’s non-confrontational social methods for improving race relations made it Seattle’s largest civil rights organization in 1956, with 1,000 members by 1959. … Read MoreChristian Friends for Racial Equality