Oral history interview with Charles Russell, 1968

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Russell, Charles, 1917-
Title
Oral history interview with Charles Russell
Dates
1968 (inclusive)
Quantity
1 sound cassette (ca. 60 min.)
Collection Number
4876 (Accession No. 4876-001)
Summary
Tape recorded interview of Seattle African-American who faced much discrimination
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

Open to all users.

Request at UW

Languages
English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Mr. Russell was born in Seattle in 1917 and was one of 4 children.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

Tape-recorded interview conducted by Larry Gossett, March 24, 1968.

His father was a chef on Great Northern Railroad for 44 years. The only available jobs for black in Seattle were running on the boats, railroad jobs, maintenance jobs and shoeshine jobs. Charles Russell attended Garfield High School and UW, where he was noted as a star football player. He left the UW because of discrimination on the part of his coach, James Falen and other teammembers. He was only allowed on the football team because of pressure, largely on the part of Clarence Dirks, a Seattle Post Intelligencer sportswriter. Russell left Seattle after 2 years at the UW and worked as a waiter in Sacramento, Calif. Finding conditions there even worse, he returned to Seattle and worked as a porter/waiter on the Northern Pacific Railroad. He was treated very fairly by the superintendent, William Swifell. Russell mentions the influx to the Northwest of blacks in the early 40s due to the industrialist Edgar Kaiser and increased job opportunities with better pay. After working on the railroad for 15 years, he worked on the airlines. He also mentions the role of Stokely Carmichael in creating racial pride in Seattle and the beginnings and development of Seattle's Central area in 1955.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Alternative Forms Available

Listen to the audio recording of this interview on the Libraries Digital Collections site.

Restrictions on Use

Informant's/creator's rights dedicated to the public. May be used for research, instruction, publication or similar purposes.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

Donated by Charles Russell.

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • African Americans--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • African Americans--Washington (State)--Seattle--Interviews

Personal Names

  • Russell, Charles, 1917- --Archives

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)