In response to urban problems of poverty and race in the United States, in November 1966 Congress initiated the Model Cities Program. The program's objectives were to reduce social and economic disadvantages in designated neighborhoods, provide training and employment opportunities, and establish health services for residents. Financial and technical assistance was made available to cities through the Department of Housing and Urban Development. City agencies were required to coordinate their efforts with federal, state, and local resources, and to involve local residents in the planning and development process.
The Seattle Model Cities Program (SMCP) was administered by the City's Executive Department, and funds for the Construction Industry Development program were distributed by Liberty Bank. In this image, members of the Central Contractors Association protest outside the Liberty Bank of Seattle at 2320 East Union Street. The group protested the bank's "selective loan policy," and maintained that they should participate in directing federal Model Cities funds to needy contractors. The bank said it had no funds for high-risk loans and was more interesting in developing a new assistance program for all minority businessmen, not just the contractors.
Caption information source: "Seattle Model Cities Program Records, 1967-1975," Seattle Municipal Archives, retrieved from http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv22921 Caption information source: "Minority contractors picket ban, hit loan distribution," The Seattle Times, February 15, 1972, p. 8. Caption information also derived from captions written by Post-Intelligencer staff and attached to the back of the photograph.
