In 1969, Eddie Rye, Jr., personnel officer for the Seattle-King County Economic Opportunity Board, was named Director of the Central Area Motivation Program’s (C.A.M.P.) Education Talent Search Project (E.S.T.P.). E.S.T.P.’s mission was to find promising minority scholars and arrange financial aid for them to attend college.

Continuing a life of community activism and advocacy, Rye served as chair of the Central Seattle Community Council Federation Housing Committee, which produced one of the first reports on redlining in the city’s Central District. He also co-founded the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the National Black Chamber of Commerce. In addition, Rye promoted the name change of Seattle’s Empire Way to Martin Luther King Boulevard and the change of the design of the official King County seal to reflect the name change.

This image shows Eddie Rye, Jr., early in his career. In 2019, King County presented him with the Martin Luther King, Jr. Medal of Distinguished Service.

Caption information source: “C.A.M.P. names 3 leaders”, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, November 10, 1969, page 16.
Caption information source: “Minority Voices: War on Poverty”, by Eddie Rye, Jr., Seattle Post-Intelligencer, November 30, 1974, page A6.
Caption information source: “Eddie Rye, Jr.’s lifetime of community activism recognized with MLK Medal of Distinguished Service”, Metropolitan King County Council News, February 27, 2019. Retrieved at https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/council/governance-leadership/county-council/newsroom/archived-news/2019/february/02-27-lg-mlkrye