The Color Line at the Oberon: Seattle’s First Civil Rights Test
When a prominent Black minister is ejected from a local music hall for his race, he threatens legal action under state law, sparking a public debate on discrimination in early 20th-century Seattle.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
NEGROES ARE EXERCISED Over Their Exclusion From the Oberon Music Hall.
Many of the colored citizens of Seattle are considerably wrought up over the discrimination made against them by Irwin Haruch, proprietor of the Oberon music hall. Yesterday evening witnessed the opening of the hall under Mr. Haruch's management. Among the visitors were several colored men. They took seats at a table, but soon after were ordered from the hall until they quietly left.
Now, Attorney May Hawkins is going to bring action against the establishment as he has discovered a state statute making it a misdemeanor for a keeper of a place of amusement to deny entrance to any person on account of race or color. Mr. Haruch admits the facts, and asserts all responsibility, stating that he was informed that under the previous management of the hall colored persons made their presence objectionable.
The Census Bureau. WASHINGTON, D.C., June 11.—To obtain the necessary force of clerks for the census, Director Herrick has adopted a plan of allotting a pro rata number to each state...
This incident from 1904 highlights that racial segregation in public accommodations was not just a Southern phenomenon but a pervasive issue in Northern and Western cities as well. The legal battle fought by Attorney May Hawkins mirrors the long, slow grind of civil rights litigation that would continue for decades, eventually leading to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which codified these protections federally.
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