• Visit
    • Museum Accessibility
    • Community Access
    • Group Visits and Tours
    • Programs
      • History Café
      • MOHAI Mercantile Literary Series
      • First Thursday
      • Denny Lecture
      • Al Young Educator of the Year
      • Everyday Heroes
    • MOHAI Mercantile
    • Gourmondo at MOHAI
  • Exhibits
  • Events
  • Collections and Research
    • Collections Search
    • Themed Collections
    • Research Library
    • Image Ordering
    • Donate an Artifact
    • Curator’s Fellowship
  • Support
    • Donate
    • Membership at MOHAI
    • Gift Memberships
    • Corporate Support
  • Education
    • Field Trips
      • Self-Guided School Year Explorations
      • Creating Our Community
      • Cracking the History Code: Salish Stories
      • Cracking the History Code: Settling Around the Sound
      • Hands on History
      • Self-Guided Summer Field Trips
      • Homeschool Group
    • Portable Museum Program
    • Scholarships
    • Education FAQ
    • Primary Source Analysis
    • Online Curricula
    • Teen Programs
    • Idea Lab
    • Discovery Packs
    • Summer Camps
  • About
    • Annual Reports
    • The MOHAI Blog
    • Contact MOHAI
    • Opportunities
    • Leadership
    • Private Events
  • Donate
  • Tickets
  • Membership
HomeCollections and ResearchCollections Search

Collections Search

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.

Download lower resolution images directly from an item page. MOHAI offers high-resolution digital reproductions of photographs and other materials from our collections for personal and professional use.

We have many more items in our collections and not everything you see online is on view at the museum. We have additional materials online at the University of Washington’s Digital Collections.

MOHAI Statement on Harmful Content

Search by Collection

Not finding what you are looking for?
Ask the MOHAI Collections Staff

770 results for: Activism

Share:
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 Protestors demonstrating in favor of low income housing, Seattle, October 12, 1988
Photograph

Protestors demonstrating in favor of low income housing, Seattle, October 12, 1988

On October 12, 1988, some 300 demonstrators crowded the steps of the federal courthouse in downtown Seattle to protest the lack of affordable housing. Speakers noted that some 20,000 children were homeless in Washington state. The demonstration was organized by a variety of church and activist groups and took place during a housing conference at the Washington State Convention and…
ID Number:2000.107.047.36.01
Date:1988
Image of Demonstrators protesting cutting of federal funds to refugees, Seattle, September 26, 1991
Photograph

Demonstrators protesting cutting of federal funds to refugees, Seattle, September 26, 1991

This image depicts Refugee Advocacy Action Coalition demonstrators in front of the Jackson Federal Building in downtown Seattle, protesting against the cutting of cash and medical assistance to refugees from 12 months to 8 months. They are joined by Van Dan, left, a refugee from Vietnam, who arrived in the U. S. just three months prior, and speaks very little…
ID Number:2000.107.048.01.01
Date:1991
Image of Betty Shellman marching in support of health-care reform, Seattle, June 5, 1991
Photograph

Betty Shellman marching in support of health-care reform, Seattle, June 5, 1991

Betty Shellman, a member of the Puget Sound Council of Senior Citizens, joins more than 400 other protesters who convened at the office of King County Medical Blue Shield at 1800 Ninth Avenue as part of a nationwide health action week during which consumer and labor groups called attention to obstacles facing national health-care reform. Caption information source: The Seattle…
ID Number:2000.107.048.01.02
Date:1991
Image of Peace activists demonstrating outside Sand Point Naval Air Station, Seattle, January 7, 1991
Photograph

Peace activists demonstrating outside Sand Point Naval Air Station, Seattle, January 7, 1991

In this photo, Randy Rowland, a Vietnam veteran from Seattle, leads about 50 protesters in anti-war chants during a peace march in front of the Sand Point Naval Air Station. Also at the rally were members of the Warren Davis Defense Committee, a group organized in support of the Seattle Navy reservist awaiting court-martial for desertion. Davis, who had sought…
ID Number:2000.107.048.01.04
Date:1991
Image of Logger Chad Johnson at logging industry rally, Federal Courthouse, Seattle, May 6, 1991
Photograph

Logger Chad Johnson at logging industry rally, Federal Courthouse, Seattle, May 6, 1991

In 1990, the Northern Spotted Owl was placed on the federal endangered species list, and a plan was needed to protect the species. The owl’s primary habitat was the prime timber of the Pacific Northwest’s shrinking old growth forests. When the U.S. Forest Service proposed selling 66,000 acres of this old growth forest, environmental groups sought an injunction against the…
ID Number:2000.107.048.01.05
Date:1991
Image of Gulf War protestors on I-5, Seattle, January 15, 1991
Photograph

Gulf War protestors on I-5, Seattle, January 15, 1991

After the U.S. bombing of Baghdad in January 1991, Seattle activists called for anti-war demonstrations. Some protestors held a vigil at the Federal Building; others marched northwards to a rally at Westlake. Still others marched onto Interstate 5 where they sat on the highway for a short while, blocking traffic during the early rush hour. This image from the Denny…
ID Number:2000.107.048.02.02
Date:1991
Image of Thelma Dewitty, September 3, 1947
Photograph

Thelma Dewitty, September 3, 1947

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:2000.107.049.03.01
Date:1947
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
Image of Franklin High School sit-in defendants arriving at court, April 5, 1968
Photograph

Franklin High School sit-in defendants arriving at court, April 5, 1968

In March of 1968 two Black students, cousins Charles Oliver and Trolice Flavors, where suspended from Seattle's Franklin High School after an altercation with a white student, who was not reprimanded. Franklin's outraged Black students, with the help of UW Black Student Union (BSU) activists Carl Miller, Aaron Dixon, and Larry Gossett, planned a peaceful demonstration at the school to…
ID Number:2000.107.049.31.01
Date:1968
Previous 1 … 20 21 22 23 24 … 77 Next

Land Acknowledgement

MOHAI stands on the historic and contemporary lands and shores of the Duwamish, Suquamish, Muckleshoot, and other Coast Salish Nations. We acknowledge the forced displacement of Native Communities from this land while honoring the endurance of the Duwamish people who still live here.
Address: 860 Terry Ave N, Seattle WA, 98109
Phone: 206 324 1126
  • Plan a Visit
  • Directions and Parking
  • Accessibility
  • Group Tours
  • About

Sign up to Receive our Newsletter

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright 2026, Museum of History & Industry. All Rights Reserved