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Explore stories in Northwest history through highlights from MOHAI’s collections. Search by keyword below or browse the entire online collection by entering the asterisk symbol (*). Filter your search by type of materials.

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426 results for: Civil Rights

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Image of Ron Chew at Wing Luke Museum, January 1992
Photograph

Ron Chew at Wing Luke Museum, January 1992

Ronald A. "Ron" Chew (b. 1953) was born in Seattle, the son of Chinese immigrants who worked in the restaurant and garment industries in Seattle’s Chinatown International District (CID). Chew attended Franklin High School and University of Washington (UW), leaving UW in 1975 to pursue community-based journalism. Chew was a reporter for, then editor of, the CID newspaper International Examiner,…
ID Number:2000.107.035.07.01
Date:1992
Image of Ron Chew at Wing Luke Museum, April 27, 1993
Photograph

Ron Chew at Wing Luke Museum, April 27, 1993

Ronald A. "Ron" Chew (b. 1953) was born in Settle, the son of Chinese immigrants who worked in the restaurant and garment industries in Seattle’s Chinatown International District (CID). Chew attended Franklin High School and University of Washington (UW), leaving UW in 1975 to pursue community-based journalism. Chew was a reporter for, then editor of, the CID newspaper International Examiner,…
ID Number:2000.107.035.07.02
Date:1993
Image of Mark Cook giving an interview at Walla Walla State Penitentiary, January 1978
Photograph

Mark Cook giving an interview at Walla Walla State Penitentiary, January 1978

Mark Edwin Cook (b. 1936) was born in Seattle and grew up in the Seattle's Central Area. First arrested at age 17, Cook was in and out of prison for petty crimes until 1973. After his release, he became involved with the George Jackson Brigade, a small revolutionary group in Seattle that committed mostly property crimes to draw attention to…
ID Number:2000.107.041.03.01
Date:1978
Image of Earl Debnam in front of Colman School, Seattle, July 1990
Photograph

Earl Debnam in front of Colman School, Seattle, July 1990

In 1985, a group of Black activists led by Charlie James, Earl Debnam, Omari Tahir-Garrett, and Michael Greenwood began occupying the abandoned Colman School in the Central Area in order to pressure the city to renovate it into a museum of African-American history. Despite the building's lack of heat and running water, the occupiers stayed for eight years, making this…
ID Number:2000.107.046.22.01
Date:1990
Image of Earl Debnam in front of Colman School, February 16, 1993
Photograph

Earl Debnam in front of Colman School, February 16, 1993

In 1985, a group of Black activists led by Charlie James, Earl Debnam, Omari Tahir-Garrett, and Michael Greenwood began occupying the abandoned Colman School in the Central Area in order to pressure the city to renovate it into a museum of African-American history. Despite the building's lack of heat and running water, the occupiers stayed for eight years, making this…
ID Number:2000.107.046.22.02
Date:1993
Image of Demonstrators protesting outside the home of the honorary South African consul, Seattle, March 10, 1985
Photograph

Demonstrators protesting outside the home of the honorary South African consul, Seattle, March 10, 1985

When South Africa’s National Party came to power in 1948, the white leadership put extreme laws in place forcing the country’s racial groups to live and develop separately. These “apartheid” laws caused much hardship and resentment. The growth of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States in the 1950s brought attention to apartheid, and in the 1970s and 80s,…
ID Number:2000.107.047.33.03
Date:1985
Image of Police and supporters of the anti-apartheid movement, Seattle, January 20, 1985
Photograph

Police and supporters of the anti-apartheid movement, Seattle, January 20, 1985

When South Africa’s National Party came to power in 1948, the white leadership put extreme laws in place forcing the country’s racial groups to live and develop separately. These “apartheid” laws caused much hardship and resentment. The growth of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States in the 1950s brought attention to apartheid, and in the 1970s and 80s,…
ID Number:2000.107.047.33.04
Date:1985
Image of Protest outside the South African consulate, Seattle, December 8, 1984
Photograph

Protest outside the South African consulate, Seattle, December 8, 1984

When South Africa’s National Party came to power in 1948, the white leadership put extreme laws in place forcing the country’s racial groups to live and develop separately. These “apartheid” laws caused much hardship and resentment. The growth of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States in the 1950s brought attention to apartheid, and in the 1970s and 80s,…
ID Number:2000.107.047.33.05
Date:1984
Image of Central Area NAACP protest, September 7, 1986
Photograph

Central Area NAACP protest, September 7, 1986

Attorney Ross Baker, right, shouts his support for efforts to stop drug trafficking and prostitution in Seattle's Central Area. Baker was one of about 250 people who marched to Judkins Park for a rally sponsored by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Caption information source: The Seattle Times, September 8, 1986, page B4Caption information also derived…
ID Number:2000.107.047.35.02
Date:1986
Image of Thelma Dewitty, March 22, 1972
Photograph

Thelma Dewitty, March 22, 1972

Thelma Dewitty (1912-1977) joined the faculty of Seattle Public Schools in September 1947, one of the first two Black teachers hired by the district. Dewitty previously taught in Texas for 14 years, but segregationist policies there prevented her from attending graduate school, and she moved to Seattle to study at the University of Washington. Dewitty was hired in 1947 to…
ID Number:2000.107.049.03.02
Date:1972
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