Resources
Timeline of Civil and Human Rights in Seattle, Washington
| March 27, 1890 | The Public Accommodations Act becomes effective. This law, which was emplaced upon the adoption of the Washington State Constitution, entitles all citizens to civil and legal rights with infractions punishable by fine or imprisonment. It became nullified in 1895 when the Washington State Legislature removed the penalties. |
| 1910 | The Washington State Constitution was amended, granting women the right to vote. Ten years later all women across the nation held this right. |
| 1935 | Anti-miscegenation laws are introduced in the Washington State Legislature, which prevent mixed race marriages. A coalition comprised of members from various minority groups formed in opposition to the measure. The impacts of this coalition were blocking legislation that would have formed a precedence for other legal civil-right violations, and discovering the power of collective action |
| 1942 | Boeing hires its first African American employees. Concluding a battle that begun in 1939 over African Americans' right to work for the company, Floris Spearman and Dorothy West Williams were hired. |
| December 17, 1944 | U.S. Major General Henry C. Pratt announced that beginning in January the federal government would no longer prevent Japanese and Japanese-Americans from returning to their homes on the West Coast after being released from internment camps. A significant debate over this issue arose in Seattle as a result. |
| 1949 | The Human Rights Commission was created in Washington State. The goal of this commission is to take measures towards eliminating and preventing discrimination in the state. |
| July 1, 1963 | In the Seattle offices of Mayor Gordon S. Clinton, 35 young people staged a sit-in, protesting the 12-member human rights commission proposed by Clinton. The purpose of the proposed commission was to write an open housing ordinance which would address the racial discrimination in housing. |
| March 10, 1964 | An "Open Housing" referendum is rejected by Seattle voters. The goal was to end racial discrimination in housing sales and rentals that had confined minority groups to Seattle's Central area. |
| July 1965 | "Freedom Patrols" began following police around Seattle following the shooting of African American Robert L. Reese by off duty police officers. The result of the patrols was making the Seattle Police department more accountable to its citizens. |
| March 31-April 1 1966. | Seattle schools experience boycotts as integration is demanded. 3,000 school age children spent two days learning about African American history in "Freedom Schools" as a method of protest. The success of the boycott is controversial, but it did contribute to the fight towards integration. |
| April 10, 1968 | United States Congress passes the Housing Rights Act of 1968. Racially restricted deeds became common in 1926 creating segregation in housing. Once these restrictions were no longer permissible, Seattle's system of housing segregation began to see change. |
| April 6, 1971 | 14 members are named to Seattle's Women Commission. The commission was created a year before by Mayor Wes Uhlman with the purposes of creating equal opportunities for women in the city, and giving women equal participation in city affairs. |
| February 24, 1986 | King County Council passes Motion 6461 which redesignates the namesake of the county. The county was originally named by the Oregon Territory Legislature in 1852 for William Rufus DeVane King. The title was transferred to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to commemorate his actions as a civil rights leader. |
| November 6, 1990 | Seattle voters turned down Initiative 35 showing support for municipal ordinances recognizing domestic partners. On the same day, Tacoma residents voted against a proposal grating equal rights to homosexuals. |
| December 1999. | The grassroots organization Comite Pro-Amnistia General Y Justicia Social is created in Seattle. The motive of this group is to draw attention to the plight of immigrant laborers in Western Washington. |
| February 2000 | The State Supreme Court case "Roberts v. Dudley" established clear policy against discrimination based on sex. It is applicable to businesses with fewer than eight employees, which had previously been exempt from discrimination laws. |
| May 1, 2006 | Thousands march streets in Seattle and Yakima in support of immigrants' rights. In Seattle, the march ended in a rally downtown calling for collective action in opposing House Resolution 4437, a resolution that included deporting immigrant parents, and imprisonment or fines for anyone who aided undocumented immigrants. |
| 2008 | Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board is making effort to improve the participation and performance of minority students in Washington's higher education system. |
Session One was the first of the 10th annual 2008 NW Diveristy Learning Series - Leveraging the tensions of diversity: Igniting sparks of opportunity. The Series, held in Seattle, WA, is organized by The GilDeane Group, publishers of DiversityCentral.com.
Presenters were Professor James Gregory and Graduate Student Trevor Griffey, University of Washington History Project, creators of the Seattle Civil Rights Labor History Project, Seattle, WA, and Mic Crenshaw, Educator, Activist and Hip-Hop Artist, Portland, OR
Session Six: Thu, Nov 13, 2008
Confronting Global Diversity: Imagining a Wide Circle of Inclusion
Patricia Digh
David Robinson