Revisit: RACE AND VIOLENCE IN WASHINGTON STATE: THE REPORT (1969)

The report, Race and Violence in Washington State, published in 1969, was undertaken by the Washington State Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Civil Disorder. The Commission was established by the Urban Affairs Council on April 25, 1968 in response to the widespread racial disorders, or riots, that erupted in cities nationwide between 1964 and 1967.  That national crisis led to the 1967 Kerner Commission Report. The Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Civil Disorder was tasked with performing a similar role at the state level, educating public leaders regarding Washington’s potential for racial disorders and investigating why there had not yet been any significant disturbances in Washington. The Commission also rectified a perceived failing of the Kerner Commission by investigating what steps were already being taken to prevent disorders and their effectiveness. Continue reading Revisit: RACE AND VIOLENCE IN WASHINGTON STATE: THE REPORT (1969)

Revisit: IGBO LANDING MASS SUICIDE (1803)

The sequence of events that occurred next remains unclear. It is known only that the Igbo marched ashore, singing, led by their high chief. Then at his direction, they walked into the marshy waters of Dunbar Creek, committing mass suicide. Roswell King, a white overseer on the nearby Pierce Butler plantation, wrote the first account of the incident. Continue reading Revisit: IGBO LANDING MASS SUICIDE (1803)