At the begining of this class Melissa recommend us to look at the The Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project website. Today I look this websit again and I find this is very useful website. It tells the civil right history which just happened in Seattle. Civil rights movements in Seattle not just relied on African American activists; they also relied on Filipino Americans, Japanese Americans, Chinese Americans, Jews, Latinos and Native Americans. This website provides us oral video histories, hundreds photographs, documents, movements and histories personal biographies to help people know deeply about civil rights movements which have been happened in Seattle.
Through year of 1910 to 1960, people of Seattle have been divided into color only white is the supremacy. People who have different color were excluded from jobs, schools, neighborhoods and stores, restaurants and hospitals. From my standpoint, it is really unfair I don’t know that civil rights movement through up to 1960s, which just 50 years to now. Seattle also had racial discrimination, the target not just African Americans but also Native Americans, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, people of Mexican ancestry, and Jews. I read a power point it is says “Green lake neighborhood “No person or persons of Asiatic, African, or Negro blood, lineage or extraction shall be permitted to occupy a portion of said property or any building thereon except a domestic servant or servants who may actually and in good faith be employed by white occupants of such premises” (Seattle Civil Rights with Labor History Project, 2007) after I read this, I feel lucky that Seattle doesn’t have unfair polices in this time, if there were no any civil rights movements, the other colors children probably can’t go to school.
Actually, until 1966 there were nine “black school” and there were nearly one hundred “white school” in Seattle. Also at the year of 1966, civil rights groups organized two days boycotts to protest school segregation; at the end more than 3000 children went to “Freedom school” in nearby church. This website also shows the picture of Freedom School Letter and Boycott leaflet of the year 1966. Boycott was not easy to get success; there were many organizations, parents and the Presbytery of Seattle supported this boycott, but there also some organizations did not support this boycott, like Seattle Times and school board. This boycott had last for two months, from February to April of 1966. This civil rights movement made more than 3000 children can go to school to accept education. The Seattle public school boycott just one example of people took direct action to get civil rights; there also many civil rights movements are mentioned in the website.
In year 1939 to 1942 African American had a battle at Boeing, they were fighting for get jobs. In 1944 December 17th, there was a movement called “Seattle’s Debate over Japanese Americans' Right to Return Home”. And during 1969 to 1973, Seattle Asian Americans also had lots movements in order to get more rights and the equal treatment like white people.
This website also listed all the Seattle civil rights organizations through 1910 to 1970. From these long lists, I can see how Seattle people struggle to get their rights and now they finally get success. Now Seattle is one of the modern cities, we can’t ignore those people who attended the movement. Their names and those movements all are remembered in the history. This website provides a good way to let people know the past Seattle; it can help people to know Seattle deeply.
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