In the mid-20th century, protesters began challenging long-established inequitable practices in housing. Racially restrictive housing covenants and discriminatory lending (“redlining”) excluded people of color from buying or renting housing in most of Seattle’s neighborhoods. In 1963, the Seattle Human Rights Commission drafted an open housing ordinance and presented it to the City Council for approval. The Council held public hearings on the ordinance but declined to pass it outright as the Commission recommended. Instead, the issue was put on the ballot in March 1964, where it was turned down by voters. Seattle passed an open housing law in 1968, making redlining illegal, but it often continued in secret and its effects have continued for decades.

This image shows protesters at Garfield High School playfield demonstrating for open housing. Despite the rain, around 3,000 people joined the march, called the "March for Freedom," which supported the open housing ordinance then before the City Council. The march was Seattle's largest outdoor civil rights demonstration at the time.

Signs in image: “Let all our children [

] together” “Equal service for all” “NAACP wants open housing now” “NAACP Youth Council for open housing now” “Must you be white to buy a house?” “NAACP freedom now” “NAACP wants equal opportunities for all now” “

AME Church open housing now” “Stop racial discrimination now!”

Caption information source: "3,000 demonstrate in rain for open housing here," by Ken Fleming, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, October 21, 1963, page 1.