Sam Smith was the first African-American person to be elected to the Seattle City Council in 1968 and was on the Council until 1991, chairing many committees and serving as Council President from 1974-1979 and 1986-1989. Smith also served in the Washington State Legislature for five terms, beginning with his election from the 37th district in 1958.

In January 1969, Councilman Sam Smith called a press conference at the East Madison branch of the YMCA, where leaders of the Black and Jewish communities made a public statement pledging their mutual cooperation to ease tensions and antagonisms between Blacks and Jews in the Central Area. Among the objectives of the pledge were the elimination of all forms of anti-Semitism and racism, upholding the right of any person to operate a business in the Central Area without harassment, and to promote intergroup youth dialogues.

This photo shows Sam Smith, at center, with, from left, Edwin Pratt of the Seattle Urban League, Rabbi Raphael Levine of Temple De Hirsch, and attorney Al Franco, of the Jewish Federation and Council of Greater Seattle, at the press conference.

Edwin Pratt, a civil rights leader who championed equal housing and school desegregation, and spoke out against discriminatory hiring practices in the construction industry, was assassinated outside his home in Shoreline on January 26, 1969, two days after this photo was taken.

Caption information source: "Smith, Sam (1922-1995)," by Mary Henry, HistoryLink.org Essay 63.
Caption information source: "Black, Jewish Leaders Pledge Cooperation," by Ray Ruppert, Seattle Daily Times, January 15, 1969, p.54.
Caption information also derived from captions written by Post-Intelligencer staff and attached to the back of the photograph.