Albert was born November 10, 1914 to immigrant parents Rosa Boullissa and Marco Franco of the Island of Rhodes. He attended Leschi Elementary, Garfield High School and graduated from the University of Washington and University of Washington Law School Class of 1939. He served in the US Army Intelligence Corps. Returning to Seattle, he became a founding partner of the law firm Franco, Asia, Bensussen and Coe, and practiced immigration and business law, also serving as the representative of the Mexican Embassy in the Northwest. Albert was an early civil rights advocate, and helped author King County's Civil Rights Ordinance. He also served on the King County Human Rights Commission. A strong philanthropic supporter of the Jewish Community and United Way, Albert was past president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle and was active in the Anti-Defamation League, the American Civil Liberties Union and the American Jewish Committee. [Seattle Times Obituary, Jan. 12, 2011]
Three separate interviews conducted over the span of 22 years. Franco discusses family history on the Isle of Rhodes, moving to Seattle, Sephardic life and Zionism. He also discusses his career as a lawyer. One xerox copy of "Progress" dating from March 1935 from the Shalom Alehem and a program from Seattle Maimonidean Octocentennial Committe from 1935 is in Mss. Acc. No. 2934-001 (VF 1024)
Some interviews were recorded on analog tape. If a digital surrogate does not exist, users may be required to pay to have the items transferred to digital format before they would be available for listening. The transcripts have been digitized and links to them are available below.
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Some interviews were recorded on analog tape. If a digital surrogate does not exist, users may be required to pay to have the items transferred to digital format before they would be available for listening. The transcripts have been digitized and links to them are available below.
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Albert Franco tells of his family's life on the Isle of Rhodes; why they left; how they came to Seattle. He tells of his father, Marco Franco's, achievements in business and of his father's extensive participation in community affairs, in the Sephardic community and in the community in general. He tells of his own education, his career as a lawyer, his war service in the Army Intelligence, and of his work in the community. He experienced discrimination by his fellow Jews when no Sephardic student could join a Jewish fraternity or sorority.
This interview gives illuminating insights concerning the history of an early day Sephardic family and how a child who grew up in that era reacted as shown in his community work as as adult. His account of his father, Marco Franco, as a liaison between the various segments in the community is interesting.
This is a follow-up interview which focuses on Franco's introduction to Zionism, the Sephardic congregations in Seattle, his opposition to moving Ezra Bessaroth, his involvement in B'nai Brith, and concludes with a long discussion of the Jewish community's role in civil rights matters in Seattle.
Mr. Franco discusses the lawsuit of Eugene Levy vs. Jewish Family and Child Service (JFCS) of 1948.