Spokane’s Debates of 1968 for Fair Housing

Faculty Mentor

Lawrence Cebula

Document Type

Poster

Start Date

10-5-2023 11:15 AM

End Date

10-5-2023 1:00 PM

Location

PUB NCR

Department

History

Abstract

Born in 1925, James S. Black worked in the real estate industry where he would create the NAI Black company in 1958. In 1968, he was elected president of the Washington Realtors Association. Black was against Senate Bill 378. He believed that it was the right of the homeowner to choose who could buy their homes. He would be part of the 1968 debates with Carl Maxey, a well-known civil rights lawyer.

Carl Maxey was born in 1924, and he would go from being kicked out of children’s homes to graduating from Gonzaga University on a Boxing Scholarship to become a lawyer. He would become a leading member of the Civil Rights Movement. Maxey was the Chairman of the Washington State Advisory Committee to the US Commission on Civil Rights. In 1968, he would be part of a series of debates with James S. Black who endorsed Referendum 35 while Maxey would be against the Referendum. Spokane was familiar with demands for equal treatment. The Haircut Protest was one of these protests, which took place in 1963 after an exchange student from Whitworth was refused a haircut based on the color of his skin in Spokane. This case would push Maxey into being the leading member of Spokane’s civil right movement as he won the case. In February of 1968 at the Kiwanis Club in Spokane, Black and Maxey debated Referendum 35. Maxey was against overturning Senate Bill 378 as he felt if such practices were allowed to continue, it would endanger America as a whole. While Black’s personal view is unknown, it can be determined that he was in favor of the Referendum like many real estate agents. They felt that it was the choice of the homeowners to choose who lived there. Senate Bill 378 was created to protect buyers from racial discrimination and would pull the license of real estate agents who discriminated. Referendum 35 was created to overturn Senate Bill 378.

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May 10th, 11:15 AM May 10th, 1:00 PM

Spokane’s Debates of 1968 for Fair Housing

PUB NCR

Born in 1925, James S. Black worked in the real estate industry where he would create the NAI Black company in 1958. In 1968, he was elected president of the Washington Realtors Association. Black was against Senate Bill 378. He believed that it was the right of the homeowner to choose who could buy their homes. He would be part of the 1968 debates with Carl Maxey, a well-known civil rights lawyer.

Carl Maxey was born in 1924, and he would go from being kicked out of children’s homes to graduating from Gonzaga University on a Boxing Scholarship to become a lawyer. He would become a leading member of the Civil Rights Movement. Maxey was the Chairman of the Washington State Advisory Committee to the US Commission on Civil Rights. In 1968, he would be part of a series of debates with James S. Black who endorsed Referendum 35 while Maxey would be against the Referendum. Spokane was familiar with demands for equal treatment. The Haircut Protest was one of these protests, which took place in 1963 after an exchange student from Whitworth was refused a haircut based on the color of his skin in Spokane. This case would push Maxey into being the leading member of Spokane’s civil right movement as he won the case. In February of 1968 at the Kiwanis Club in Spokane, Black and Maxey debated Referendum 35. Maxey was against overturning Senate Bill 378 as he felt if such practices were allowed to continue, it would endanger America as a whole. While Black’s personal view is unknown, it can be determined that he was in favor of the Referendum like many real estate agents. They felt that it was the choice of the homeowners to choose who lived there. Senate Bill 378 was created to protect buyers from racial discrimination and would pull the license of real estate agents who discriminated. Referendum 35 was created to overturn Senate Bill 378.