In July 1963, demonstrators occupied City Council chambers in Seattle for four days in protest over Mayor Gordon S. Clinton’s nominees for the newly created Human Rights Commission. Protesters objected to the fact that the 12-member commission, charged with writing an open housing ordinance, had only two Black members. On the fourth day of the protest, police removed and arrested 22 young people--nine adults and thirteen juveniles--for creating a disturbance, loitering in a public building, and resisting arrest.
This photo shows defendants in the case with their lawyer and supporters at Municipal Court, where their charges were later stricken. Left to right are: Philip L. Burton, chief counsel for the defense; Jack Tanner, regional NAACP President; Charles V. Johnson, Seattle branch NAACP President; Infanta Maria Spence; Zonyia Cheryle Clayton; Ray Cooper; Mellina Elizabeth Jones; Susan K. Van Donge, Patricia Ann Johnston; and Alice Naomi Gilmartin.
Caption information source: "First sit-in arrests of Seattle's civil rights movement occur on July 25, 1963" by David Wilma, HistoryLink.org Essay 3162.
ID Number: 1986.5.5928.1
Date: 1963
Physical Description: 1 acetate negative : b&w ; 4 x 5 in.
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant.
