In this recording, Seattle-native Cindy Buske is interviewed by her son Josh Soldewel about her memories of the desegregation process in Seattle schools. Cindy remembers Black children being bused from the Rainier Valley section of the city to her school in majority-white Arbor Heights, and the surprise she felt at the negative reactions of some peers and adults. She also shares her experiences being bused to a high school outside her neighborhood.
In this recording, Marie Gianola speaks with her sister-in-law Esther Herst about her childhood in Green Lake, Seattle during the time of school desegregation in the city. Marie recalls students being bused to her school, and the tension parents and students on all sides felt during the first year. Marie also explores ways in which the tumult of the busing program could have been avoided, saying busing failed despite its best intentions.
In this recording, Gregory Johnson is interviewed by his wife Marica Johnson. He describes his involvement in Seattle’s busing program, remembering the Seattle of his childhood as a “big hick town”, a fact which shaped how desegregation was perceived and managed there. Gregory recounts the racial violence that drove his family to move to the Northwest, and the continued discrimination he faced among peers and adults during the integration process.
In this recording, Gail Mondoux talks to her friend Tracy Shaughnessy about her childhood in Tacoma, WA, where she was voluntarily bused to a downtown elementary school. Tracy recalls the loneliness and fear she felt as a child traveling into the Hilltop area of the city, and describes the city’s flawed approach to achieving educational equity. She also recounts the neglect and anger she faced from administrators, teachers, and students during her transition.
In this recording, friends Delbert Richardson and Dr. Donald Felder discuss their involvement in the process of school desegregation in Seattle. Dr. Felder talks about his passion for sports in high school, and the dislocation he felt moving from a local school to a majority-white school where the “issue of race” first came to his attention. Delbert also says that he was not aware of the reality of racism until he was confronted with it through the backlash to integration.
In this recording, former Seattle School Board member Suzanne Hittman speaks to the Board’s former lawyer Mike Hoge about desegregation. Suzanne describes her goal on the Board as the improvement of education for all residents regardless of race, citing her memory of Japanese Internment as a key motivator. Suzanne recounts her role in the desegregation plan in Seattle and the dramatic backlash the School Board faced from all sides of the community.
In this recording, Shawn Richard-Davis is interviewed by her son Jerrell “RellBeFree” Davis. Shawn recalls her childhood in the Central District of Seattle in the 1960s, a diverse urban neighborhood where she was raised by her mother and aunt. Shawn describes being voluntarily bused to a majority-white school in a distant part of the city, where a group of young teachers inspired her to pursue her education with self-confidence and love.
In this recording, Stefanie Felix speaks to her son Mitchell Green about her experiences at a “very integrated” high school in San Francisco. Stefanie remembers her parents’ encouragement of her education and their support of racial equality. She also describes growing up near Haight-Ashbury in the 1960s, and how the ethos of the counterculture pervaded the student body at her high school.
In this recording, Patrick Nolan interviews his friend John Rossi about his “idyllic” childhood in the Queen Anne section of Seattle. John remembers the process of desegregation in the 1970s at Worth McClure Junior High School, and the rampant fights between Black and white students. He recounts the failure of administrators to facilitate a smoother transition during busing and describes how his experiences then shape his views now.
In this recording, Ed Bol is interviewed by Diane Buxton about his early life in Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood. Ed explains how enrollment dropped off sharply in Queen Anne schools following the implementation of the busing plan during his freshman year of high school. By his senior year, his neighborhood schools were closed by the city. Ed offers his opinions about why school desegregation was, in his view, a failed experiment.
In this recording, Julia Juarez-Kostelnik speaks with her mother Della Kostelnik Juarez about her formative years in Seattle public schools. Della describes the importance of her principal Roberta Byrd Barr - an activist, actress, and educator - in teaching her the politics of social justice. She also recalls her parents’ efforts to inculcate a diverse worldview in her, signing her up for a volunteer busing program in Seattle during the 1960s.
In this recording, brother and sister Dorothy and Ben Davis remember their youth as the children of foreign service workers. Born in Liberia and raised partially in Tunisia and New Jersey before settling in Washington, DC, attending school in Boston, Dorothy and Ben reflect upon their late exposure to desegregation in schools, which compounded their culture shock after years abroad.
