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Maid Adams collection of Seattle Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) materials, circa 1960-2016

Overview of the Collection

Cre
Adams, Maid
Title
Maid Adams collection of Seattle Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) materials
Dates
circa 1960-2016 (inclusive)
Quantity
5.33 linear feet, (7 boxes)
Collection Number
2018-002
Summary
This collection contains materials gathered by CORE member Jean "Maid" Adams. The bulk of the materials relate to CORE activities and fall into two categories: materials dating from the 1960s focusing on CORE campaigns and civil rights activism and more recent materials relating to the publication and promotion of the 2011 book Seattle in Black and White: The Congress of Racial Equality and the Fight for Equal Opportunity.
Repository
Seattle Public Library, Special Collections
1000 Fourth Ave.
Seattle, WA 98104-1109
Telephone: 206-386-4636
specialcollections@spl.org
Access Restrictions

Collection is open and available for use.

Languages
English
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Historical Note

Historical Note

James Farmer founded the national Congress of Racial Equality organization in 1942 with the goal of improving race relations and addressing racial discrimination through non-violent direct action such as sit-ins, boycotts and freedom rides. The Seattle Chapter of CORE began organizing in July 1961 and was recognized as an official chapter of the national organization in January 1962. The Seattle Chapter had several areas of focus including combating racist hiring practices, advocating for integration of schools and promoting open housing opportunities.

Although the Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, many Seattle businesses had no employees of color and actively refused to hire them. Those who were hired were often relegated to non-public-facing roles such as dishwashers or janitors. To demand the hiring of more diverse employees in a broader variety of roles, CORE organized pickets and boycotts of local companies such as A & P, Safeway, Frederick and Nelson, Nordstrom, Bon Marche, Graytop and Farwest cab companies, and Seattle First National Bank. In 1964, they also launched the Drive for Equal Employment in Downtown (DEEDS) campaign to protest widespread hiring discrimination in the downtown retail core.

School integration was another area of significant concern. Due to historically racist patterns of redlining, Seattle as a city was heavily segregated with most of the city's Black community living in the Central District. The segregation of neighborhoods had a waterfall effect on the segregation of schools. Schools in communities of color often received less resources to maintain buildings, supply classroom resources and support teachers. CORE created Operation Transfer which provided bus tokens to enable students to transfer out of Central Area schools and commute to schools in other neighborhoods. They also worked with other local organizations on initiated a Crosstown Bus Campaign to help connect the Central District with other areas of Seattle via public transportation. This campaign successfully led to the creation of the 48 bus route which is still in operation today. CORE members also helped organize the Seattle Schools Boycott of 1966 which took place over two days. During the boycott, CORE and other local organizations setup eight "Freedom Schools" for children to attend in lieu of their regular classes. Curriculum at the school focused on Black life, culture and history, subjects that were ignored in traditional school lesson plans.

Another aspect of CORE's activism was trying to bring equality to Seattle's real estate market. Many neighborhoods in Seattle had racial restrictive covenants, which banned people of color from living in the area. Even in areas without these covenants, many sellers and landlords would only consider inquiries from white applicants. CORE applied pressure to real estate firms, picketed at their offices to protest racist practices and launched Operation Windowshop, encouraging Black families to attend open houses in white neighborhoods. They also championed Seattle's Open Housing Ordinance prohibiting discrimination in housing. Although the Ordinance was defeated in 1964, continued activism and additional pressure on the mayor's office led to its passage in 1968.

The Seattle chapter also coordinated fundraising events with proceeds going to support both the local chapter and national organization. In June 1962, they hosted comedian Dick Gregory and musician Dizzy Gillespie at the Moore Theatre. In May 1963, writer James Baldwin came to Seattle for an event at the Masonic Temple attended by over 1,400 people. They also held dances at The Norselander, a restaurant in Lower Queen Anne.

Seattle in Black and White and the University of Washington's Civil Rights and Labor History Project website offer more information on the history of CORE.

Biographical Note

Jean "Maid" Adams joined CORE in 1962 on the recommendation of Seattle City Councilmember Wing Luke. Adams decided to become active in the civil rights movement after experiencing significant delays purchasing a home in Madrona and recognizing that her experience as a white woman did not compare to the difficulties faced by Black families going through the same process. Adams was an active member of CORE until 1968 when the group shifted towards all Black membership to support Black self-determination. During her time in the Seattle chapter, Adams helped run CORE's campaign against employment discrimination in local businesses, co-chairing the group's negotiations committee which monitored whether companies were hiring Black employees and organized boycotts if they refused. During the Seattle School Boycott in 1966, she acted as co-principal of the Freedom School at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church. She also helped organize other CORE campaigns fighting housing discrimination and police brutality and was one of the creators of the educational booklet Washington's First Negro Pioneer… George Washington Bush. Following her involvement in CORE, Adams volunteered for the United Farm Workers Union. She earned her master's in education from the University of Washington and worked at the Green River Community College for 20 years. During this time she created a Multi-Ethnic Education kit for parents and children with books, toys, and other ephemera showcasing diverse communities. Adams was also active in the Election Protection Coalition, a 2004 effort to ensure equitable access to the voting booth.

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Content Description

This collection contains materials gathered by CORE member Jean "Maid" Adams. The bulk of the materials relate to CORE activities and fall into two categories: materials dating from the 1960s focusing on CORE campaigns and civil rights activism and more recent materials relating to the publication and promotion of the book Seattle in Black and White: The Congress of Racial Equality and the Fight for Equal Opportunity which was published in 2011. The book was coauthored by Adams and fellow CORE members Joan Singler, Bettylou Valentine and Jean C. Durning.

The historic CORE materials include documents and ephemera related to the Equal Employment Campaign, Crosstown Bus Campaign, issues of the newsletter the Corelator and several protest signs and posters used by the group. One item of particular note is a signed copy of James Baldwin's A Fire Next Time, inscribed to Adams and her husband. (Baldwin visited Seattle in 1963 for a CORE event at the Moore Theatre. A program and ticket for this event are also included in the collection.) In addition to the CORE materials, there are also items from other local groups such as the Central Area Motivation Project (CAMP) and national groups such as The Black Panthers well as collections of clippings and periodicals focusing on civil rights issues.

Other items in the collection speak to Adams' life outside of CORE with materials about her Seattle neighborhood, Madrona; items from her activism with the United Farm Workers Grape Boycott and Election Protection Coalition in 2004; as well as a multi-ethnic education kit created in the 1970s to encourage diversity in educational materials for children.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Copyright restrictions apply.

Preferred Citation

[ITEM DESCRIPTION], Maid Adams collection of Seattle Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) materials, circa 1960-2016. 2018-002. Seattle Public Library, Seattle, WA.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The collection is arranged alphabetically into series based on subject matter. Materials within each series are also arranged alphabetically.

Acquisition Information

This collection is comprised of materials donated to the library by Jean "Maid" Adams 2011, 2014 and 2018.

Processing Note

This collection was originally known as "Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) Seattle Miscellaneous Documents" and included 4 boxes of materials donated by Maid Adams in 2011 and 2014. Adams contributed additional materials in 2018 and the collection was reprocessed to provide better organization and description.

Acknowledgement of Harmful Content
The Seattle Public Library Special Collections Department is committed to creating an inclusive archive that documents the history of our diverse communities in a respectful manner. Our collections include historic materials that may contain images and outdated language which can be harmful due to issues such as racism, colonialism, sexism and homophobia. This content can provide important insight into the creator and context of the historic materials but can also reveal hurtful biases and prejudices.

We may decide to use or retain harmful language in our description when the terms have been used by the creator(s) of the materials to describe themselves or their community; when we have reused description created by the donor; when we have transcribed information directly from the materials; and when using national standards such as Library of Congress Subject Headings, which allow for standardized searching and retrieval of records. When including language from the original material in our finding aids or descriptions, we will indicate that this material comes directly from the original item by putting the language in quotes or prefacing it with a note that says the description is transcribed from the item or provided by the creator.

We will continually review our finding aids to identify harmful language and encourage you to contact us at specialcollections@spl.org if you find language that causes concern.

Related Materials

Selected items from this collection have been digitized and made available online:
https://cdm16118.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16118coll37/search/searchterm/spl_bch_ma*/field/all/mode/all/conn/and

The University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections in Seattle, WA holds the Congress of Racial Equality, Seattle Chapter records, 1954-2010:
https://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:80444/xv53708

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • African Americans--Civil Rights--Washington (State)--Seattle--History
  • Civil rights movements--Washington (State)--Seattle--History

Personal Names

  • Adams, Maid

Corporate Names

  • Congress of Racial Equality. Seattle Chapter--Archives
  • Congress of Racial Equality. Seattle Chapter--Posters

Geographical Names

  • Madrona (Seattle, Wash.)--History
  • Seattle (Wash.)--History

Finding aid prepared by Jade D'Addario
February 2022

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

About Creative Commons Licenses in Archives West

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