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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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135 results for: Seattle Public Schools

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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
Image of Elmer Dixon speaking against Youth Patrol proposal, Seattle, March 1, 1968
Photograph

Elmer Dixon speaking against Youth Patrol proposal, Seattle, March 1, 1968

Elmer Dixon (b. 1950) is a longtime Seattle activist for racial justice and was one of the founders of Seattle’s chapter of the Black Panther Party (BPP). The Seattle chapter was founded in the spring of 1968, after Elmer and his brother Aaron Dixon, Anthony Ware, Garry Owens, and several other future Panthers attended a memorial service in San Francisco…
ID Number:2000.107.049.32.10
Date:1968
Image of Bob Eagle Staff and West Seattle High School ASB officers, Seattle, November 15, 1991
Photograph

Bob Eagle Staff and West Seattle High School ASB officers, Seattle, November 15, 1991

Principal of Seattle Public Schools' American Indian Heritage School and Program, Robert Bruce Eagle Staff (1952-1996) was born on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation in South Dakota. He moved to Seattle in 1980 and worked as vice principal at Summit Alternative School before coming to Indian Heritage. A few days before his death, Mr. Eaglestaff learned that his doctoral dissertation…
ID Number:2000.107.053.15.01
Date:1991
Image of Virginia Galloway, Seattle, 1971
Photograph

Virginia Galloway, Seattle, 1971

Virginia Galloway (1915-2015) was one of the first Black teachers in Seattle. Galloway was from Washington, D.C. and first taught at a segregated school in North Carolina. She was hired at Seattle Public Schools in 1948, left later that year, then returned to teaching in 1952. Galloway taught at Maple Elementary for six years, worked in administration for the school…
ID Number:2000.107.072.05.01
Date:1971
Image of Larry Gossett and Roberto Maestas at City Council meeting, Seattle, November 10, 1972
Photograph

Larry Gossett and Roberto Maestas at City Council meeting, Seattle, November 10, 1972

Larry Gossett (1945-) was born and raised in Seattle, and by the late 1960s was one of Seattle’s best known young black radicals. In 1967 he was active in the Seattle chapter of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and in 1968 he co-founded the University of Washington Black Student Union (UW BSU). Gossett served as executive director of CAMP,…
ID Number:2000.107.077.01.01
Date:1972
Image of Orie Greene, 1972
Photograph

Orie Greene, 1972

Orie Greene (1922-2005) was one of the first Black teachers in Washington State. She was born in Arkansas and raised in St. Louis. In 1949, Greene was hired as a teacher in Bremerton, WA, becoming the first Black teacher in that district. She moved to Seattle in 1953 and was hired by Seattle Public Schools. During her career in Seattle…
ID Number:2000.107.078.35.01
Date:1972
Image of Dorothy Hollingsworth in Model Cities office, Seattle, August 1972
Photograph

Dorothy Hollingsworth in Model Cities office, Seattle, August 1972

Dorothy Hollingsworth (1920-2022) was a civic leader and lifelong advocate for education, particularly for children of color, in Seattle. She was the first African American woman to manage a major city agency when she served as director of the Seattle School District Head Start Program from 1965-1969, and the first Black women to serve on a school board in Washington…
ID Number:2000.107.090.30.01
Date:1972
Image of Dorothy Hollingsworth speaking at Seattle School Board meeting, January 1980
Photograph

Dorothy Hollingsworth speaking at Seattle School Board meeting, January 1980

Dorothy Hollingsworth (1920-2022) was a civic leader and lifelong advocate for education, particularly for children of color, in Seattle. She was the first African American woman to manage a major city agency when she served as director of the Seattle School District Head Start Program from 1965-1969, and the first Black women to serve on a school board in Washington…
ID Number:2000.107.090.30.02
Date:1977
Image of Dorothy Hollingsworth speaking at Seattle School Board meeting, January 1980
Photograph

Dorothy Hollingsworth speaking at Seattle School Board meeting, January 1980

Dorothy Hollingsworth (1920-2022) was a civic leader and lifelong advocate for education, particularly for children of color, in Seattle. She was the first African American woman to manage a major city agency when she served as director of the Seattle School District Head Start Program from 1965-1969, and the first Black women to serve on a school board in Washington…
ID Number:2000.107.090.30.03
Date:1980
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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
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