Bettylou (Burleigh) Valentine (1937-2014) came to Seattle in 1959 to attend graduate school at the University of Washington. She was an early leader of Seattle CORE (Congress of Racial Equality), serving as secretary in 1964. She helped organize the campus Civil Rights Action Group (CRAG) after the university administration refused to allow an NAACP chapter on campus. She left Seattle after graduation to work on her PhD, teach, conduct research, and write. Valentine was a respected cultural anthropologist, and published the book "Hustling and Other Hard Work: Life Styles in the Ghetto." Returning to Seattle, Valentine served as a Commissioner on the Seattle Housing Authority for 12 years, and was Executive Director of Central Youth & Family Services for 16 years before her retirement.
This photo shows Bettylou Valentine standing in Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park, at S. Weller St. and Martin Luther King Jr. Way S. in Seattle, in January 1992.
Caption information source: "Seattle CORE Founders and Leaders" retrieved at http://seattleinblackandwhite.org/leaders.html Caption information also derived from captions written by Post-Intelligencer staff and attached to the back of the photograph.
