Hayden Young

Document Type

Honors Project

Publication Date

6-13-2025

Abstract

This honors project examines the factors which led to the emergence of the Seattle chapter of the Black Panther Party (BPP) in 1968, with a focus on one of the BPP’s signature issues — police reform. Negative perceptions of the Seattle PD, especially among the city’s rapidly growing population of Black residents, led Mayor Allan Pomeroy to form a citizen’s committee titled “the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Police Practices” (MACPP) in 1955. The MACPP recommended the formation of a civilian-led police oversight board in its 1956 final report, and civil rights groups such as the Urban League, ACLU, and NAACP would take up the MACPP’s call for a civilian review board during the 1960s. Each of these organizations faced resistance from the Seattle PD and various mayors at every turn. This continued opposition, even to relatively moderate changes, directly inspired a group of students and activists to take a more radical approach to police reform advocacy by establishing a BPP chapter in Seattle just over a decade after the release of the MACPP’s report.

Level of Honors

summa cum laude

Department

History

Advisor

Betsy Schlabach

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