Edwin T. Pratt
Encyclopedia
Edwin T. Pratt was an American
civil rights
activist. At the time of his assassination in 1969, he was Executive Director of the Seattle
Urban League.
, Pratt received his bachelor's degree from Clark College
(Atlanta, Georgia
) and his master's in social work
from Atlanta University
. He worked for the Urban League in Cleveland, Ohio
and Kansas City, Missouri
before arriving in Seattle in 1956 to be the Seattle league's Community Relations Secretary. In 1961, he became the Executive Director of the Seattle Urban League. Among his achievements was the Triad Plan for the desegregation
of the Seattle Public Schools
; he also led an initiative for equal housing opportunities.
Pratt was killed outside his home in Shoreline, Washington
, a suburb immediately north of Seattle. Two men were involved in the shooting; it is presumed that a third drove the getaway car. It is still unknown who killed him; they were reportedly young men, but not even their race is certain. However, Seattle Weekly reported in May 2011 that the Pratt case was essentially solved, naming the three men involved in the shooting and the person who may have paid for it, a black contractor, although the ex-wife of the getaway driver maintained that the gunman killed Pratt purely for racial motives, not money.
Pratt was survived by his wife, Bettye, and his daughter Miriam Katherine, who was five years old at the time of his death.
He is commemorated today by Seattle's Pratt Park and by the Pratt Fine Arts Center
, which is partially in that park.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
civil rights
African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)
The African-American Civil Rights Movement refers to the movements in the United States aimed at outlawing racial discrimination against African Americans and restoring voting rights to them. This article covers the phase of the movement between 1955 and 1968, particularly in the South...
activist. At the time of his assassination in 1969, he was Executive Director of the Seattle
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
Urban League.
Life
Born in Miami, FloridaMiami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
, Pratt received his bachelor's degree from Clark College
Clark Atlanta University
Clark Atlanta University is a private, historically black university in Atlanta, Georgia. It was formed in 1988 with the consolidation of Clark College and Atlanta University...
(Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
) and his master's in social work
Social work
Social Work is a professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of an individual, group, or community by intervening through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, and teaching on behalf of those afflicted with poverty or any real or...
from Atlanta University
Clark Atlanta University
Clark Atlanta University is a private, historically black university in Atlanta, Georgia. It was formed in 1988 with the consolidation of Clark College and Atlanta University...
. He worked for the Urban League in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
and Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
before arriving in Seattle in 1956 to be the Seattle league's Community Relations Secretary. In 1961, he became the Executive Director of the Seattle Urban League. Among his achievements was the Triad Plan for the desegregation
Desegregation
Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups usually referring to races. This is most commonly used in reference to the United States. Desegregation was long a focus of the American Civil Rights Movement, both before and after the United States Supreme Court's decision in...
of the Seattle Public Schools
Seattle Public Schools
Seattle Public Schools is the school district serving Seattle, Washington, USA. Its headquarters are in the John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence.-List of schools:...
; he also led an initiative for equal housing opportunities.
Pratt was killed outside his home in Shoreline, Washington
Shoreline, Washington
Shoreline is a city in King County, Washington, United States, north of Downtown Seattle bordering the northern Seattle city limits. As of the 2010 census, the population was 53,007, making it the 19th largest city in the state of Washington....
, a suburb immediately north of Seattle. Two men were involved in the shooting; it is presumed that a third drove the getaway car. It is still unknown who killed him; they were reportedly young men, but not even their race is certain. However, Seattle Weekly reported in May 2011 that the Pratt case was essentially solved, naming the three men involved in the shooting and the person who may have paid for it, a black contractor, although the ex-wife of the getaway driver maintained that the gunman killed Pratt purely for racial motives, not money.
Pratt was survived by his wife, Bettye, and his daughter Miriam Katherine, who was five years old at the time of his death.
He is commemorated today by Seattle's Pratt Park and by the Pratt Fine Arts Center
Pratt Fine Arts Center
Pratt Fine Arts Center is a non-profit arts education and resource center in the Squire Park area of Seattle's Central District. The school now serves 3,200 students and 500 working artists....
, which is partially in that park.
External links
- Heather Trescases, "Edwin Pratt is murdered outside of his Shoreline home on January 26, 1969", gives an extensive account of Pratt's assassination and the subsequent investigations.
- Rick Anderson, Seattle Weekly "He killed Edwin Pratt" gives the most detailed account ever of the murder.