Spokane's segregated past recounted

Spokane's segregated past recounted

Al Stover / Reporting

published in 41.8 of the SFCC Communicator

Students and faculty filled the seats in sn-w'ey'mn Rm.110 as Jim Kershner and Brooks R. Holland discussed Spokane's issues of segregation and human rights that went as far back as the 1930s.
   
Kershner, an author and reporter for The Spokesman-Review, and Holland, a law professor at Gongaza University came to SFCC on Feb. 24.

According to instructor Heather Keast, Kershner had been a guest speaker on campus previously in some English classes and Ryan Simmons contacted him to speak at this event. She added that the school went through the American Civilian Liberties Union's (ACLU) Web site to contact Holland. After exchanging e-mails, both Kershner and Holland agreed to come to campus.

Kershner began his discussion by talking about how there were traces of segregation throughout Spokane.

   

"While there were no Jim Crow laws, Spokane was no different than other northern cities," Kershner said. 

   

According to Kershner, the different racial issues Spokane has faced in the past included segregation in restaurants, incidents where real estate agents would steer black clients to a specific district, to black entertainers being forced out of the Davenport Hotel. There were also no black professionals like teachers, dentists, and attorneys.

   

"Spokane was restrictive for jobs for minorities in the 1940s and 1950s," Kershner said.
   

Kershner is also the author of Carl Maxey: A Fighting Life, a biography about Spokane's first prominent black attorney and civil right leader. As he was interviewing Maxey for a story, Kershner explained to the audience about Maxey's struggles in his early life and how his deeds as an attorney helped contribute to the city being less restrictive to blacks. One example Kershner used was the Eugene Breckenridge case in 1951.   

"Breckenridge applied for a job in Spokane, but no one would hire him," Kershner said. "Maxey went to the superintendent and convinced him to hire Breckenridge." 

   

Holland then talked about the different state law institutions that dealt with human rights issues in Spokane, such as the Spokane Human Rights Commission (SHRC), where citizens can file complaints of discrimination. According to Holland and the City of Spokane website, all nine seats on the SHRC's board are currently vacant. 
   

"There are a lot of things that can be done, but with no one in those seats, it's very problematic," Holland said.
   

Holland spoke of topics such as racial discrimination in the criminal justice system, and how institutions outside the city have been involved with human rights issues. One example is the Otto Zhem cast that took place in 2006 and was revisited in March 2009. The Center for Justice, a non-profit law firm, represented Zhem and his mother Anne in a civil suit against the city of Spokane.
  

"The Center for Justice became involved and a civil suit was brought to the Federal Court," Holland said. "A federal grand jury prosecuted the police officer."

   
First-year student Miranda Oliver said both speakers were informative and she had learned more about the Otto Zhem case.

   

"I had heard about the case, but I didn't know a lot about it," Oliver said. "It was interesting to hear about how it was dealt with."

   

Kershner said while Spokane has improved over the years, he still feels that there are still subtle forms of discrimination.

   

"It will always be that way," Kershner said. "There is still work to be done." 

**This story was published in Issue 41.8 of the SFCC Communicator