Education for all…

Dorothy Hollingsworth played a critical role in Seattle’s education system.  She was born in South Carolina in 1920, and moved to Seattle in 1946. Hollingworth worked in Seattle’s Central District as a social worker in the 1950s and 1960s. Dorothy became the first director of Seattle’s Public Schools’ Head Start program in 1965 and served as the first African-American woman on the Seattle School Board from 1975-1981. She continued to serve as the director of early childhood education and was a member of the Washington State Board of Education. In 1966, after protesting racial segregation in Seattle Public Schools, communities organized the Seattle school boycott of 1966 connecting local issues to the national struggle for racial justice. Hollingsworth served her community by standing up for quality education for all children regardless of race, gender, or economic background.
Contributed by Amee Bahr