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LH: So he returned to Seattle, went to the UW and helped his father again in trying to reestablish his business, and he went into the armed services during the Korean conflict. He joined the Jackson Street Community Council after his service, served on the board, and that was a service organization that dealt mostly with Blacks and also some Chinese, Filipinos, and Japanese in trying to upgrade the area and provide improvements to their living conditions. So he made many contacts among many of the Blacks, and many of the Asians. At that time, though, the Asians were not a united group, though they had some participation in the Jackson Street Council. He was asked to be the director of the council after a time, which he accepted. And the work he did there came to the attention of the mayor's office. When the Human Rights Commission was first established, it was after many demonstrations and a sit-in in the mayor's office. There was turbulence in Seattle as there was across the country. The mayor established the Human Rights Commission, and Blacks who spearheaded the efforts to have attention to problems were disappointed that he did not appoint more Blacks to the commission that was later formed, and that he was wanting to appoint Phil as Director. Phil declined the offer to be director twice. Finally, the third time he agreed that he would, he felt that he could probably be effective in working the problems.

But it was... there was difficulty when he first became director, of course. Many Blacks began to protest his appointment. And one of the leaders in the Black community was Reverend Mance Jackson, who said to Phil, "I know you, we've worked together on the Jackson Street Community Council. I believe in you, and I'm behind you. And don't worry about this, but we have to protest to make our point. But it will be okay." So Phil felt reassured by that. When he accepted the appointment, he of course continued to get some comments from Black commission members who thought that it should be a Black person directing the commission. When he needed to hire a secretary, which I was at first, he went through the Civil Service Commission, and his choices were very limited on finding a minority. There were no Blacks to choose from. And I very much wanted to be a part of that organization because I really felt strongly about its mission. I applied for the position, I was selected. And the first commission member, first commission meeting I attended, I was the target, also, of criticism. "Why did you have to appoint her? Were there no Blacks that you could choose for this position?" So we had to go through that kind of process in the beginning of the commission. After a time, they began to work well together. And there were some who were never totally supportive of anyone other than Black. But at least they were not giving a lot of difficult situations, and we began to be able to work together more effectively. So I recall that my first meeting, the press rushed up to me and asked me how I felt about being the target of their anger. And anyway, we got past that, and began the work of the commission. And the commission was given the charge of promoting understanding and awareness in the city of Seattle, of developing remedial measures wherever we could identify problems of discrimination, and making recommendations to the mayor and city council as needed. The first order of business was to prepare an open housing ordinance, which was the goal of many in the Black community at that time.

<End Segment 3> - Copyright © 2020 Seattle Chapter JACL. All Rights Reserved.