The Civil Rights History Project: Survey of Collections and Repositories

Seattle civil rights and labor history project

Repository: University of Washington. Special Collections Division

Collection Description (CRHP): This site contains both brief biographies and video excerpts for more than 70 civil rights activists interviewed for this project, many of whom were involved with the African American civil rights movement. It also includes a repository of photos and documents as well as maps showing residential patterns for various racial groups. Three short films and six Powerpoint slide shows introduce major themes and sections of the Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project, and these presentations work well for classroom use. The site also has a number of special sections devoted to aspects of the civil rights movement and includes essays specifically written for the project. The site has materials from community organizations, individuals, and various archival collections including the Museum of History & Industry Photograph Collection and Washington State Archives.

Collection Description (Extant): Seattle has a unique civil rights history that challenges the way we think about race, civil rights, and the Pacific Northwest. Civil rights movements in Seattle started well before the celebrated struggles in the South in the 1950s and 1960s, and they relied not just on African American activists but also on Filipino Americans, Japanese Americans, Chinese Americans, Jews, Latinos, and Native Americans. They also depended upon the support of some elements of the region's labor movement. From the 1910s through the 1970s, labor and civil rights were linked in complicated ways, with some unions and radical organizations providing critical support to struggles for racial justice, while others stood in the way. This multi-media web site brings the vital history of Seattle's civil rights movements to life with scores of video oral histories, hundreds of rare photographs, documents, movement histories, and personal biographies. Based at the University of Washington, the Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project is a collaboration between community groups and UW faculty and students.

Access Copy Note: As of October 2010, the DVDs of the interviews of this collection are at the UW-Seattle Special Collections. See the 'notes' field below for more details about other materials in this project. The oral histories were originally conducted using mini DV tapes (which are, as of October 2010, in the possession of project director James Gregory) but have been converted to DVD for use by researchers. The project has all the requisite permission forms for the interviews that are online.

Collection URL: http://depts.washington.edu/civilr/

Digital Status: Partial

Extent: oral histories (circa 70 digital video files); photographs (circa hundreds); manuscripts (circa 300 pages)

Language: English

Interviewees: Pedro Acevez, Jean Adams, Emilio Aguayo, Belle Alexander, John H. Adams, Kenyatto Amen-Allah, Theresa Aragon, Ramona Bennett, Willard Bill, Juan Bocanegra, Kay Bullitt, Vivian Caver, Ron Chew, Doug Chin, Mark Cook, Fred Cordova, Dorothy Cordova, Megan Cornish, David Della, Aaron Dixon, Elmer Dixon, Michael Dixon, Lynn Domingo, Heidi Durham, Jake Fiddler, Sydney Gallegos, Erasmo Gamboa, Guadalupe Gamboa, Rosalinda Guillen, Larry Gossett, Richard Gurtiza, Phil Hayasaka, Todd Hawkins, Dorothy Hollingsworth, Leon Hobbs, Walter Hubbard, Francisco Irigon, Charles Johnson, Doug Johnson, Ron Johnson, Chuck Kato, Ivan King, Herman Lanier, Janet Lewis, Randy Lewis, Mike Lowry, Sharon Maeda, Roberto Maestas, Baba Jeanne Mangaoang, Frank Martinez, Blanca Estella, Ricardo Martinez, Larry Matsuda, Samuel McKinney, Lyle Mercer, Mike Murray, Lonnie Nelson, Gary Owens, Blair Paul, Jeanne Raymond, Lawney Reyes, Rogelio Riojas, Jesus Rodriquez, Rebecca Saldana, Robert Santos, Beverly Sims, Fred Simmons, Joan Singler, Charles Z. Smith, Alan Sugiyama, Mike Tagawa, Wes Uhlman, Bettylou Valentine, Velma Veloria, Tomas Villanueva, Marion West, Bobby White, Alvin Whitaker, Shamseddin Williams, Michael Woo, John Yates

Rights (CRHP): Contact the repository which holds the collection for information on rights

Subjects:

African Americans--Civil rights--Washington (State)
Black power
Civil rights movements--Washington (State)
Civil rights--Cases
Communism
Labor movement--Washington (State)
School integration--Washington (State)
Seattle (Wash.)

Genres:

Interviews
Manuscripts
Photographs
Videorecordings