The projects are directed by Professor James Gregory at the University of Washington and supported by the Simpson Center for the Humanities, the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies, the Center for the Study of Pacific Northwest, the History Department, and many individuals who have contributed to the various projects (see below). The 14 projects bring together more than one hundred video oral history interviews and several thousand photographs, documents, and digitized newspaper articles. Included are films, slide shows, and lesson plans for teachers. The projects also feature scores of historical essays about important issues, events, and people, many researched and written by undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Washington. Here is information about staff and contributors and about copyrights and citations.
Toni Morrison turned to the Seattle Civil Rights and 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. Since 2010, the Civil Rights & Labor History Consortium projects have logged more than 15 million page views. The projects were honored in the 2015 Barclay Simpson Prize for Scholarship in Public awarded by the Simpson Center for Humanities. Read more about the impact and the public attention here.
These projects have depended upon the contributions of hundreds of people and many community organizations, libraries, and museums. Here are partial lists.
Director and co-founder: James N. Gregory
Co-founder and Project Coordinator: Trevor Griffey
Associate Editors: Kevin McKenna (2014-2016), Josue Estrada (2014), Eleanor Mahoney (2012), Michael Aguirre (2011), Steve Beda (2007-2009), Jessie Kindig (2008-2009), Daren Salter (2006-2009), Michael Schulze-Oechtering (2006-2009), Maria Quintana (2009), Nathan Roberts (2006), Alex Morrow (2005)
Teacher Outreach Coordinator: Teresa Frizell
Films: Shaun Scott, Andrew Hedden, Ian Morgan
Section Coordinators: Janet Jones (Black Panther Party), Oscar Rosales Castenada and Maria Quintana (Farm Workers) , Teresa Brownwolf Powers (Urban Indians), Oscar Rosales Castenada and Michael Schulze-Oechtering Castaneda (Chicano Movement), Carolyn Lind (Restrictive Covenants), Kevin McKenna (LGBTQ Activism)
Web Architect: Ryan Poe
Technical Assistance: Jason Grills, Peter Leonard, Micah Ellison, Brian Grijalva, Doug Herstad, Jason Smith
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, Susan Frost, Tikia Gilbert, Trevor Goodloe, Michelle Goshorn, Nicole Grant, Rebecca Gray, Brooklyn Gregorich, Rachel Gregory, 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
Contributors-Oral Histories: Pedro Acevez, Jean Adams, John. H. Adams, 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, Todd Hawkins, Phil Hayasaka, Dorothy Hollingsworth, Leon Hobbs, Walter Hubbard, Christine 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, Mike Murray, Lonnie Nelson, Garry Owens, Blair Paul, Jean Raymond, Lawney Reyes, Rogelio Riojas, Jesus Rodriguez, Oscar Rosales, Rebecca Saldana, 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, Roger Winters, Michael Woo, John Yates
Contributors-Photo and Document Collections: Oscar Rosales Castañeda (Chicano Murals photos), Aaron Dixon (Black Panther Party photos), Walter Hubbard (Catholic Northwest Progress civil rights photos), Y.K. Kuniyuki (International District preservation photos), Fred Lonidier (Black Panther Party photos), Larry Matsuda (Asian Coalition for Equality newsletter), Jesus Rodriguez (Chicano Movement photos and documents), Alan Sugiyama (Asian American Movement documents and photos), Eugene Tagawa (Black Panther Party and Asian American Movement photos), Mike Tagawa (Black Panther Party documents), Ben Yorita (Oriental Student Union Sit-in photos)
Community Partners: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. 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 Libraries Special Collections Division and Labor Archives of Washington. UW librarians Conor Casey, Theresa Mudrock, Glenda Pearson, Carla Rickerson have contributed greatly to this project.
Project Directors: James Gregory, Mark Jenkins, Sarah Nash Gates
Project Coordinator: Jessie Kindig
Theatre Arts Section Coordinator: Sarah Guthu
Visual Arts Section Coordinator: Eleanor Mahoney
Associate Editors: Eleanor Mahoney, Steve Beda, Trevor Griffey, Daren Salter
Undergraduate Assistant: Patrick Kelly
Web Architect: Peter Leonard
Contributors: Ashleen Aguilar, Paul Brinkley , Michael Branscum , Rachelle Byarlay , Skyler Cuthill , Nicole Dade , Magic Demirel , Mike DiBernardo , Kristin Ebeling , Katherine Edwards , Andie Erhart , Taylor Easley , Stephanie Fajardo , Kaegan Faltys-Burr , Nicolette Flannery , Seth Goodkind , Nick Hamblet , Caitlyn Hamilton , Matthew Hansen , Brian Harris , Amanda Higgins , Crystal Hoffer , Eunice How , Yifeng Hua , Robert Huffaker , Andrea Kaufman , Roxana Johnson , Zachary Keeler , Summer Kelly , Amanda Kirk , Andrew Knudsen , Chris Kwon , Allison Lamb , Sarah Lawrence , Raevynn Leach , Eunji Lee , Jeffrey Lehman , Brandon Letsinger , Emma Lunec , Yukio Maeda , Nick Manos , Drew May , Joe McArdle , Christian McClung , Devon Mills , Annie Morro , Dustin Neighly , Jenica Nixon , Kiyomi Nunez , Claire Palay , David Pervere , Elizabeth Poole , Drew Powers , Catherine Roth , Kyle Poss , Nathan Riding , Matthew Rubright , Kayta Katherine Samuels , Mary Selby , Sundeep Singh Sidhu , Joey Smith , Corinne Strandjord , Nicholas Taylor , Selena Voelker , Annie Walsh , Barry Witham , Stephanie Whitney , Anna Wong , Emily Yoshiwara
Project Directors: James Gregory and Margaret Levi
Project editors: Leo Baunach (2013), Michael Reagan (2010), Steven Beda and George Robertson (2009)
Video/audio digitization: Jon Agnone
>Working Group advisors: Ronald Magden, Gene Vrana, Ian Kennedy, David Olson
Contributors: Brittany Barrett, Leo Baunach, Rachelle Byarlay, Michael Schulze-Oechterning Castaneda, Derek Creager, Adam Farley, Blaine Holien, Devin Kelly, Patrick Kelly, Jessie Kindig, Ashley Lindsey, Rod Palmquist, Daren Salter, Katelynn Sortino
Web design: Peter Leonard
Photo and Document Collections: Ronald E. Magden , ILWU Archives , ILWU Local 23, University of Washington Libraries Special Collections Division, Fred and Dorothy Cordova, Pinoy Archives, Filipino American National Historical Society , Museum of History and Industry , Harry Bridges Center Jean Gundlach Collection , Lonnie Nelson , Harvey Schwartz , Jerry Tyler
Director and co-founder: James Gregory
Co-founder and Project Coordinator: Jessie Kindig
Associate Editors: Steve Beda, Maria Quintana
Web Design and Programming: Peter Leonard
Contributors (Authors, Researchers, Interviewers, Producers): Zoe Altaras , Steve Beda , Brian Casserly , Rutger Ceballos , Matt Dundas , Trevor Griffey , Jessie Kindig , Mike McCormick , Maria Quintana
Contributors (Oral Histories): Py Bateman , Bill “Bix” Bichsel , Katharine “Kay” Bullitt , Megan Cornish , Aaron Dixon , Larry Gossett , Ivan King , Steve Ludwig , Bruce MacLean , Lyle Mercer , Dean Paton , Lyle Quasim , Randy Rowland , Kim Wahl , Barbara Winslow
Contributors (Photographs and Documents): Megan Cornish , Joe Felsenstein , Steve Hudziak , Roger Lippman , Fred Lonidier , Steve Ludwig , Bruce MacLean
Director: James Gregory
Special thanks to Steve Beda who collected and digitized the newspaper pages with help from Jessica Albano, Glenda Pearson, and Suzi Freelund at the UW Library; to Brian Grijalva who designed an earlier version of this web site, to Fred Bird for much useful advice.
Contributors: Karla Kelling Sclater, Natalia Salinas-Aguilar, Josh Kaplan, Victoria Thorpe, Christopher Perry, Kristin Peasley, Ericka Marquez, Gerardine Carroll, Michael Moe, Bryan Schnase, Kristen Ebeling, Julian Laserna, Carol Daniels, Trevor Sargent, Jacqueline Hailey, Steve Bergquist, Victoria Troisi, Jordan Van Vleet, Gordon Black, Jordan Shay, Kaira Veckaktins, Gary Siebel, Frederick Bird, Scott Livingston, Stephanie Curwick, Amanda Rankin, Heather Gorgura, Jayne Muir, Erick Eigner, Christine Davies, Jessica Dunahoo, Joshua Stecker, Rache Stotts-Johnson,
Director: James Gregory
Special thanks to Lucy Ostrander for permission to excerpt her film Witness to Revolution: The Anna Louise Strong Story, and to Rob Rosenthal for permission to use his collection of oral history interviews.
Contributors: Sinan Demeril, Roberta Gold, Rebecca Jackson, Colin Anderson, Jon Wright,Sheila Shown, Susan Newsome, Patrick Farrell, Phil Emerson, Trevor Williams, Patterson Webb, Erik Mickelson,Chris Canterbury, Kimberley Reimer, David Radford, Stan Quast, James Larrabee, Tae H. Kim, Ryan Deibert, Chad Seabury
Director: James Gregory
Project Editor: Daren Salter
Web Architect: Peter Leonard
Contributors: Gordon Black, Stephanie Curwick, Brian Grijalva, Daeha Ko, Paul Landis, Jennifer Phipps, Shelley Pinckney, and Marian Spath. Mark Jenkins contributed video oral histories of Albert Canwell and John Caughlin, and helped interview Abe Osheroff. We are especially grateful to the women and men who have contributed their oral histories: Paul Bowen, Marc Brodine, Lilian Feist, Irene Hull, B.J. Mangaoang, Art Mink, Lonnie Nelson, Abe Osheroff, James West.
Directors: James Gregory, Conor Casey
Research Associates: Rebecca Flores, Arianne Hermida, Josue Estrada, Katie Anastas
Contributors: Colin M. Anderson, Nick Bragg, Alison Cheung, Morgan Cottle, Shaun Cuffin, Mike DiBernardo, Michael Hanley, Oliver Janders, James Larrabee, Cameron Molyneux, Kiyomi Nunez, Sentera Orwig, Chris Perry, Oscar Rosales Castañeda, Victoria Thorpe, Austin Upton
Below are some of the articles, reviews, radio, and TV programs about the projects.
• "UW Project Explores Great Depression's Impact on State," by Sanjay Bhatt. Seattle Times, February 20, 2010.
• "The Great Depression in Washington State: Lessons and the Current Recession" KUOW Radio, February 18, 2010. (Listen to the one hour interview program with James Gregory, Mark Jenkins, Monique Robinson, Trevor Marsten)
• "Delving in the Depression" by Gracie Ingermanson. UW Daily, February 5, 2010
• "UW Students Recreate Story of Great Depression that Transformed Washington" by Joel Schwarz. University Week, February 4, 2010
• "The Great Depression-On the Web, On the Stage" A&S Perspectives, University of Washington
• "Taking Clues from the Past" Interview with James Gregory, by Shannan Lenke Stoll, Real Change News, May 14, 2009
Twice the Washington State Legislature has changed state law in response to the work we have done to uncover the history of racial restrictive covenants. On March 15, 2006, Governor Christine Gregoire signed into law Senate Bill 6169, which makes it easier for neighborhoods governed by homeowners associations to rid themselves of racial restrictions that are still in their by-laws. State Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle, introduced the measure after this project focused attention on the lingering effects of these covenants. More recently, Governor Jay Inslee signed into law SHB 2514, introduced by State Representative Christine Kildruff. The new law allows a property owner to record a modification document that will provide notice in the land title records that the racially restrictive covenant is void and unenforceable.
The Seattle Times reported the new law and surveys our database of nearly 500 racial restrictive covenants:
Katherine Long, "The deed to your Seattle-area home may contain racist language; here's how to fix it," Seattle Times, January 7, 2019.
Other local and national news articles:
"Racist language is still woven into home deeds across America. Erasing it isn't easy, and some don't want to"
by Nick Watt and Jack Hannah, CNN, February 15, 2020)
"What Seattle's Redlining History tells us about wealth today"
by Eric Keto, KCTS/Crosscut.com, November 9, 2018)
"100 Years of Seattle Activism"
by Madeline Ostrander and Valerie Schloredt (Seattle Met, December 2017)
"A Story of Liberation Preserved in LGBTQ History Project
by Jonathan Hiskes (Medium, November 28, 2016)
"UW Debuts LGBTQ Activism in Seattle History Project
by Mike Andrew (Seattle Gay News, October 14, 2016)
"Seattle's History of Housing Segregation Remains Apparent Today""
by Mike Lewis (KIRO Radio and MyNorthwest.com, October 13, 2016)
"New LGBTQ Activism in Seattle History project debuts Oct. 10"
by Peter Kelley (UW Today, October 4, 2016)
"Was your Seattle Neighborhood Racist?"
by Vanessa Ho (Seattle PI, May 17, 2014)
"Seattle's Ugly Past: Segregation in Our Neighborhoods"
by Knute Berger (Seattle Magazine, March 2013)
"Toni Morrison Talks with Google about Creativity"
by Hillel Italie (Associated Press, February 27, 2013)
"Racism Shadows Property Covenants"
by Greg Latshaw (USA Today, August 3, 2010)
"UW Project Sheds Light on Klan as Force in the State"
by Lornet Turnbull (Seattle Times, November 13, 2008)
"Web Site Exposes Previously Undocumented KKK Activity in Washington"
by Joel Schwarz (University Week, November 13, 2008)
"Seattle Takes Steps to Recognize Minorities’ Role in Shaping Region"
by William Yardley (New York Times, Feb.6 2008)
"Professor's Civil Rights Project Exposes Seattle's Segregationist Past"
by Siv Prince (UW Daily, February 14, 2007)
"Remember Seattle's Segregated History "
by James Gregory (Seattle PI, December 12, 2006)
"The Story of Seattle's Black Panther Party"
by Cara Soloman (Seattle Times, May 21, 2006)
"History of the Panthers Comes Alive in Classrooms, Meetings, Website"
by Joel Schwarz, (UWNews.org May 16, 2006)
"New Web site shows Seattle's civil rights history"
by Nancy Wick (University Week, April 7, 2005)
Academic articles:
"Rethinking Race and Place: The Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project,"
by Trevor Griffey (OAH Magazine of History, January 2012)
“A City Learns its Civil Rights History while a University Learns New Ways to Engage Students,”
by James N. Gregory and Trevor Griffey (Diversity & Democracy, Spring 2008)
“Teaching a City about its Civil Rights History: A Public History Success Story”
by James N. Gregory and Trevor Griffey (American Historical Association Perspectives, April 2007)
"Seattle Civil Rights & Labor History Project: An Online Video Oral History Collection"
by James N. Gregory and Trevor Griffey (Northwest Oral History Association Newsletter, Spring 2007)
"News from Abroad-USA"
by James N. Gregory and Trevor Griffey (Oral History, Spring 2007)
Television programs:
"Seattle's segregated history laid out in property deeds" Alan Schauffler, KING 5 News, April 8, 2009
"The History of Segregation in Seattle," Seattle Channel: a lecture by James Gregory, Seattle City Hall, November 8, 2006, Sponsored by the City of Seattle Department of Executive Administration Race and Social Justice Change Team. The Seattle Channel broadcasts this talk periodically. Click here for the schedule or follow this link to watch the video now: www.seattlechannel.org/videos/video.asp?ID=5010682
Radio programs :
"Divided by design: racially restrictive deed clauses remain on the books despite being illegal" Ideastream (NPR Cleveland station WCPN) interview with James Gregory by Amy Eddings, November 15, 2017.
"This American Life: Seattle's Segregated Past" KUOW interview with James Gregory by Jamala Henderson, April 10, 2010.
"Hidden in Old Home Deeds, a Segregationist Past" by Julie Rose, Weekend Edition Sunday, National Public Radio, February 7, 2010.
"The History of the KKK in Washington State" KBCS interview with Trevor Griffey, March 12, 2009.
"Seattle Civil Rights History" KUOW hour long program broadcast January 2, 2007. Trevor Griffey and James Gregory interviewed by "Weekday" host Steve Scher with calls from listerners.
Reports and reviews:
Journal of American History (March 2009) review by Peter Cole
History News Network (August 8, 2007)
History Matters (November 22, 2006)
The Scout Report, Internet Scout Project (December 1, 2006)
Humanities, Arts, Sciences, Technology, Advanced Collaboratory (April 4, 2006)
Intute: Social Sciences (December 4, 2006)
National Council on Public History, News and Notes (December 2006- January 2007)
Students' Research Forms the Basis of a Web Site on Labor Journalism
by Brock Read, Chronicle of Higher Education (June 14, 2002)
"The Seattle General Strike of 1919," James Gregory interview, KUOW radio, February 21, 2019
"Solidarity Centennial: The 1919 General Strike in History and Memory," James Gregory talk, Seattle Channel, February 9, 2019
"The Seattle General Strike Solidarity Centennial," James Gregory talk, Free Speech TV, February 9, 2019
"90th Anniversary of the Seattle General Strike," KUOW interview with James Gregory by Ross Reynolds (February 6, 2009)
"The Pacific Northwest Labor and Civil Rights Projects"
by Erik Loomis, Journal of American History (March 2017), 1123-24
"The New Labor History, the New Media, and New Challenges"
by Thomas Dublin, LABOR: Studies in Working-Class History of the Americas (Summer 2010), 83-96