EHC is home to nearly 600 cubic feet of archival materials. Our archive hosts things like photographs, books, newspapers, and letters. One such letter showcases a painful chapter in one family’s journey to the Eastside. Far from exceptional, the Martin’s story is one of many who have faced housing discrimination both on the Eastside and in the United States.
Home Owners' Loan Corporation Security Map and Area Descriptions, January 10, 1936.
From Notes:
“D-4 Area: This is the Negro area of Seattle.”
“D-5 Area: This district is composed of various mixed nationalities. Homes are occupied by tenants in a vast majority. Homes generally old and obsolete in need of extensive repairs.”
(Mapping Inequality Project, University of Richmond)
2008.051.001 Letter by Georgia Martin
Tim and Georgia Martin were looking to buy a home. In 1958 they were living in a two-bedroom house in the Central District in Seattle, with three children sharing one room. They needed more space and wanted to leave the Central District to pursue more opportunities for their family. There was just one problem - Tim Martin was Black.
During their house-hunting in Seattle, they were routinely met with discriminatory practices. Real Estate Agents refused to show them homes, banks declined to approve them for loans, and whole neighborhoods were off limits to them. A letter penned by Georgia in 1962 outlines the challenges they faced during this time.
“The person who answered the phone at Wallace Realty asked if we were Negro, Japanese or Caucasian. He said it made a difference and that he would not show the house to Negroes. He had nothing which he would show us.”
2008.023.003 Seattle Magazine, First Issue 1964
The first issue of Seattle Magazine, also in our collection, features an article written about Tim Martin and the challenges his family faced. This article elaborates on their eventual home-buying experience.
Tim and Georgia turned their sights east, to Bellevue. Tim had gone through the effort to become a licensed real estate agent, so he could draw up contracts and negotiate deals on his own behalf. When he saw an ad for a home in Lake Hills he was prepared to make a deal. The owner, while surprised by Martin’s race, was willing to sell to him and they quickly came to terms. After nearly two years of searching, they had a home.
Living in Bellevue was not easy for the Martins. Neighbors were distant and classmates shouted racial epithets at their children. After several months, they were gradually accepted into the community. Better schools and job opportunities for the Martin’s made the move worthwhile, but Tim had no illusions about their standing on the Eastside.
“Some people who have finally accepted me think that proves they are real, 14-carat liberals. It makes them feel oh so very proud. But if and when more Negroes move in, they’ll get the same treatment I did - and the white residents will use their acceptance of me as living proof that they aren’t bigots.”
Tim and Georgia Martin were members of the Seattle Chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE).
Georgia’s letter was written August 18, 1962 and presented as testimony to Seattle’s Mayor, Gordon Clinton, and the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Open Housing.
To learn more about this history, check out this article from the Civil Rights and Labor History Consortium, University of Washington. The 1964 Open Housing Election.
Resources:
2008.051.001 - Letter from Georgia Martin, 1962.
2008.023.003 - Seattle Magazine, April 1964. “A Pioneer’s Lonely Path”.
Jan, Tracy. “Analysis | Redlining Was Banned 50 Years Ago. It's Still Hurting Minorities Today.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 27 Apr. 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/03/28/redlining-was-banned-50-years-ago-its-still-hurting-minorities-today/.
Gross, Terry. “A 'Forgotten History' Of How The U.S. Government Segregated America.” NPR, NPR, 3 May 2017, www.npr.org/2017/05/03/526655831/a-forgotten-history-of-how-the-u-s-government-segregated-america.
Robert K. Nelson, LaDale Winling, Richard Marciano, Nathan Connolly, et al., “Mapping Inequality,” American Panorama, ed. Robert K. Nelson and Edward L. Ayers, accessed December 1, 2020, https://dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/redlining/.
“Home Owners' Loan Corporation Security Map and Area Descriptions, January 10, 1936.” The Seattle Public Library, cdm16118.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16118coll2/id/379.
