This image was taken as more than 1,500 demonstrators attended a rally at Westlake Plaza in support of open-housing in Seattle. Several local clergy and representatives of the NAACP spoke to the crowd, encouraging everyone to vote for a local ordinance that would provide for criminal penalties for acts of housing discrimination on the basis of race, ethnic origin, or creed. Those opposing the open housing legislation advertised heavily, with slogans referencing personal freedom and forced housing. The advertisements urged voters to examine human rights and property rights and to vote "no" in order not to lose family freedom. The open housing legislation went before the voters on March 10, 1964, and was defeated by more than a two-to-one margin - 115,627 opposed to 54,448 in favor.
Attitudes slowly changed between 1964 and 1968, partially due to voluntary efforts such as the Fair Housing Listing Service and Operation Equality. The Fair Housing Listing Service, created by Sidney Gerber in 1962, worked with 24 organizations and brought together blacks wanting to move out of the Central District and white homeowners willing to sell to minorities. Operation Equality was a three-year program run by the Seattle Urban League to assist minorities in finding housing. The Seattle Real Estate Board issued a Statement of Principle in June 1965, stating that it was the policy of the Board that members should show all listings without discrimination. That same month Seattle Mayor Braman issued an Executive Order relating to fair practices, reaffirming the City's policy to protect the rights of all citizens and affording all persons equal treatment.
Protestors' signs: UW Civil Rights Action Group. Trinity Methodist Supports Open Housing. Tokenism Not Enough. NAACP Wants Equal Opportunities [...]. Vote Right for Human Rights. Seattle It's Up to You. With Liberty and Justice for All. CORE - Congress of Racial Equality. Catholic Interracial Council. University Unitarian Church. Vote Yes. Green Lake Methodist Church - We Believe It's Right. Open Heart, Open Mind, Open Housing. Let's Abolish Racial Restrictions. I Believe It's Right. Seattle Real Estate Board's Segregationist Policy Hurts Seattle. Presbyterians for Open Housing. Pray for Wisdom, Hope for Justice, Work for Peace. Open Housing Yes, Discrimination No. We Want Open Housing Now. Handwritten on sleeve: SEATTLE, Housing, Open housing demonstration at Westlake Mall. Date photograph was filed at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (date of photograph and file date may differ by a month or more): March 7, 1964.
Caption information written by: "The Seattle Open Housing Campaign, 1959-1968 - Detailed Narrative," by Ann Frantilla, retrieved from https://www.seattle.gov/cityarchives/exhibits-and-education/digital-document-libraries/the-seattle-open-housing-campaign/open-housing-narrative Caption information source: "Seattle Could Be Like Little Rock, Negro Pastor Warns," The Seattle Times, March 8, 1964, p. 100.
