The Clubhouse Seattle Would Not Rent
In 1923, a landlord was talked out of leasing a house to Filipino students after a University of Washington professor objected to living near them—prompting an editorial demand for a permanent home the community could call its own.
The failure of the clubhouse deal speaks eloquently of prejudice against the Filipinos in Seattle.
In 1923, after one year's experience with the University Filipino Clubhouse on 14th Ave. N.E., an American lady interested in the welfare of Filipino students tried to make a deal for the lease of a house to be used as a clubhouse for Filipino students. To her surprise, the owner of the house was advised by a neighbor, who was a University professor, not to let her house be used by Filipinos.
We do not need to dig up causes for the apparent prejudice of Americans against Filipinos. What we want to make clear here is that there is such an attitude, and so long as there is such an attitude the Filipinos in this city cannot feel comfortable if they live only in a place they cannot call their own. They are liable to be kicked out any moment.
The idea of buying a permanent headquarters for Filipino students is therefore the only proper solution to the students' embarrassment. We hope the Filipino backers of the movement would not retreat after the discouraging incident.
“The owner of the house was advised by a neighbor, who was a University professor, not to let her house be used by Filipinos.”
A century before Seattle's fair-housing debates, Filipino students found that a willing renter could be vetoed by a neighbor—and a university professor at that. The editorial's call for a permanent, community-owned clubhouse anticipates today's arguments about ownership and community stability as protections against displacement.
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