Seattle had a growing Latino population in the late 1960s, and activists had been pressing the city for a building in which to establish a Chicano community center. Tired of having their requests ignored, in October 1972 they took over the abandoned Beacon Hill School on 16th Avenue South and renamed it El Centro de la Raza. After a 3-month occupation and ongoing negotiations - including a sit-in - with the Mayor's office, the city finally acquiesced in June 1973, subleasing the Seattle School District building to the group for $1 a year. As of 2025, El Centro de la Raza continues to provide services and advocacy for the Latino community and others in Seattle and King County.
In this image, Juana Valverde, right, speaks to another student during a citizenship class at El Centro de la Raza. At the time, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that the Latino population had surpassed the Black population as the nation’s largest minority, according to US Census Bureau figures.
Caption information source: "Hispanics outnumber Blacks" by John Iwasaki, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, January 22, 2003, p. A1, A7
Additional Information: Metadata created as part of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Library Services and Technology Act, through the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
Credit: MOHAI, Seattle Post-Intelligencer Collection, 2000.107.20030123.CD06.002, photo by Dan DeLong
