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Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project

About Segregated Seattle Essays Interviews Photos Maps For Teachers

About the Project

The Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project has been in the news since its launch in 2005. Here are links to more than two dozen newspaper articles, journal articles, television reports, and radio broadcasts about the project and about its impact on public education. [more]

Three times the Washington State Legislature has changed state law in response to the work we have done to uncover the history of racial restrictive covenants, most recently in Spring 2021 with House Bill 1335 (introduced by Rep. Javier Valdez) which authorized our team and one from Eastern Washington University to conduct a statewide survey to locate the racist deed restrictions that still haunt property records. The project will report results in 2022 and 2023. Earlier laws laid the groundwork. [more]

The Seattle Civil Rights & Labor History Project is based at the University of Washington. It represents a unique collaboration involving community groups, UW faculty, undergraduate and graduate students. Funding for the project has been provided by the Simpson Center for the Humanities, the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies, the Center for the Study of the Pacific Northwest, and the following University of Washington offices: the Office of Undergraduate Education, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Office of the Provost, UW-IT Learning Technologies. In addition we gratefully acknowledge support from 4Culture/King County Lodging Tax Fund.

Toni Morrison turned to the Seattle Civil Rights & Labor History Project when researching her novel, Home, about a Korean War veteran who spends time in a Seattle hospital then returns to his native Georgia. She has had lots of company. Since 2010, this and related projects in the Civil Rights and Labor History Consortium have logged more than 12  million page views.

Staff

Faculty Advisors

Contributors

Authors, Researchers, and Interviewers

Lossom Allen, Roberto Alvizo, Christy Avery, Morgan Banks, Francesca Barajas, Cristal Barragan, Doug Blair, Rachael Blanchard, Jonathan Brooks, Fred Brown, Jamie Brown, Lucy Burnett, Oscar Rosales Castenada, Pauline Chardoul-Sutter, Angelita Chavez, Gabriel Chrisman, Brooke Clarke, Luke Colasurdo, Craig Collisson, Kelly Connors, Gabriel Chrisman, Kristin Dimick , Micah Ellison, Meg Elston, Sarah Falconer, Edgar Flores, Crystal Fresco, Tikia Gilbert, Trevor Goodloe, Michelle Goshorn, Nicole Grant, Rebecca Gray, Brooklyn Gregorich, Rachel Gregory, Susan Griffith, Brian Grijalva, Stacey Jagels, Stephanie Johnson, Laurie Johnstonbaugh, Janet Jones, Timothy Kilgren, Breeann Larios, Anne Levine, Carolyn Lind, Eric Luthy, Dien Luu, Mark Mabanag, Doug Marcoux, Kate Marshall, Heather McKimmie, Sarah Miner, Mark Morzol, Nichole Murray, Tracie Newbins, Karen Oliver, Rod Palmquist, Christopher Paredes, Lindsay Park, Monica Perez, Johanna Phillips, Shelley Pinckney, Erin Plummer, Teresa Brownwolf Powers, Amber Price, Carrie Reynolds, Marc Robinson, Nathan Rodke, Catherine Roth, Michael Schulze-Oechtering, Chad Seabury, Kurt Schaefer, Shaun Scott, Allison Shephard, Catherine Silva, Jeremy Simer, Karen Smith, Rachel Smith, Jennifer Speidel, Rache Stotts-Johnson, Grace Taylor, Jennifer Taylor, Stephanie Teatro, Leonard Totev, Marco Vargas, Sharon Walker, Sharae Wheeler, Jon Wright

Oral Histories

Pedro Acevez, Jean Adams, John. H. Adams, Emilio Aguayo, Yolanda Alaniz, Belle Alexander, Kenyatto Amen-Allah, Teresa Aragon, Ramona Bennett, Phil Bereano, Willard Bill, Juan Jose Bocanegra, Marsha Botzer, Katherine Bullitt, Tim Burak, Vivian Caver, Ron Chew, Doug Chin, Mark Cook, Dorothy Cordova, Fred Cordova, Megan Cornish, David Della, Antonio Diaz, Aaron Dixon, Elmer Dixon, Michael Dixon, Cindy Domingo, Lynn Domingo, Nemesio Domingo, Heidi Durham, Jake Fiddler, Michael Fox, Sydney Gallegos, Erasmo Gamboa, Guadelupe Gamboa, Rosalinda Guillen, Larry Gossett, Richard Gurtiza, Phyllis Guttierez Kenney, Todd Hawkins, Phil Hayasaka, Dorothy Hollingsworth, Leon Hobbs, Walter Hubbard, Chris Hurley, Francisco Irigon, Charles V. Johnson, Doug Johnson, Ron Johnson, Charles Kato, Ivan King, Herman Lanier, Janet Lewis, Randy Lewis, Mike Lowry, Sharon Maeda, Roberto Maestas, B.J. Mangaoang, Aleksa Manila, Blanca Martinez, Frank Martinez, Ricardo Martinez, Larry Matsuda, Samuel McKinney, Lyle Mercer, Carmen Miranda, Mike Murray, Lonnie Nelson, Garry Owens, Blair Paul, Jean Raymond, Lawney Reyes, Rogelio Riojas, Jesus Rodriguez, Oscar Rosales, Rebecca Saldaña, Ricardo Sanchez, Julia Sandoval, Tomas Sandoval, Bob Santos, Beverly Sims, Fred Simmons, Joan Singler, Charles Z. Smith, Alan Sugiyama, Mike Tagawa, Wes Uhlman, Bettylou Valentine, Janice Van Cleve, Velma Veloria, Tomas Villanueva, Sarah Welch, Marion West, Bobby White, Alvin Whitaker, Shamseddin Williams, Barbara Winslow, Roger Winters, Michael Woo, John Yates

Photo and Document Collections

Community Partners

Many community organizations are contributing to this project. Special thanks to the following: LELO (Legacy of Equality Leadership and Organizing) which shared the interviews, pictures, publications, and documents that comprise the United Construction Workers unit of this project. The Filipino American National Historical Society, which shared the photos and other materials that appear in the Cannery Workers Union pages. Members of the Seattle Black Panther Party Legacy Committee who agreed to be interviewed and shared photographs. MEChA de UW which shared photos and documents and whose members are responsible for much of the Chicano Movement in Washington State History Project.

Library and Museum Partners

Many of the pictures on these pages belong to Seattle’s Museum of History and Industry and University of Washington Library’s Special Collections Division. UW librarians Conor Casey, Theresa Mudrock, Glenda Pearson, Carla Rickerson have contributed greatly to this project. Theresa Mudrock designed the Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project brochure.

Everything on this site is protected by copyright. Here is information about copyright, usage permission, and how to cite these pages.

News Coverage About the Projects

The Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project has been profiled in newspapers, on television and radio, and in academic publications. Here are articles and links.

Contact Us

Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project
civilr@u.washington.edu

c/o Professor James Gregory History Department University of Washington Seattle, WA 98195-3560 206-543-7792 fax 206-543-9451

The Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project is one of the Pacific Northwest Labor and Civil Rights Projects directed by Professor James Gregory.

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Civil Rights and Labor History Consortium, University of Washington