A Sociolinguists’ Eye-View: Seattle's Yesler Terrace
The Sociolinguists’ Eye View series explores linguistic and cultural outcomes of interethnic contact in the Pacific Northwestern United States from the point of view of the informants who participated in the Pacific Northwest English Study. The research project focuses on five ethnic groups with a long-established presence in the Pacific Northwest, along with the communities in which they reside.
Built in 1941 on 43.5 acres of land near Seattle’s First Hill neighborhood, Yesler Terrace was the first racially integrated, public low-income housing community in the United States. Constructed under the supervision of their first executive director, Jesse Epstein, Yesler Terrace was the first project undertaken by the newly founded Seattle Housing Authority (SHA). Low-income public housing was created for families, with the goal of encouraging financial stability and re-entry into the private housing market. Epstein’s vision of an integrated neighborhood was supported by SHA’s race-blind housing assignment policies. Similarities in economic status, along with the race-blind assignment policies, provided residents with a foundation upon which to build a strong community within Yesler Terrace.
Energized by the war effort, subsequent Allied victory and post-war economic boom, Yesler Terrace pioneers (c. 1941-1966) successfully actualized Epstein's vision of a racially integrated community. Later generations of Yesler Terrace alumni had varying experiences, particularly in the years following the 1960s (see “Timeline” for more details on the history of public housing and Yesler Terrace). What follows are selected highlights from our transcribed audio-recorded sessions with those who lived in Yesler Terrace, some of whom were from the first generation of residents.
With informants largely selected from the first generation of Yesler Terrace residents. Click on the black play button to hear some of the stories our informants told us, in their own words.
In 2005, a group of Terrace alumni who wanted to create a record of the early days of the projects from their view as early residents began collecting memories. In these interviews, Terrace “alumni,” or “alums,” (a title preferred over “former resident”) share their family histories, memories, and the ways in which living in Yesler Terrace shaped their outlook on life. Our intention is to represent some of the ideas of these initial alumni and how their ideas reflect evolving core values of the community.
Personal details are omitted to protect respondent identity
The following audio clips are used with permission and should not be used by any other entity without the expressed written consent of the respondent.
Language:
So, from a sociolinguist’s perspective, we ask: What linguistic outcomes will we see in a community formed in a crucible of interethnic contact, like Yesler Terrace? Will we find that features of African American English mix with those of other local Englishes? We know that English in the Pacific Northwest arose from a mixture of linguistic inputs, arising from a settlement history characterized by ongoing transnational and international migration. It is common to find other English-speaking communities in the US in which dialect contact gave rise to a local way of speaking; after this, such dialects stabilize to have a “sound” people strongly associate with that place (think of places with “colorful” dialects like New York or Philadelphia). The northwestern part of North America is set apart by its continual stream of migration and resulting interethnic contact due to the economic opportunities and geographical accessibility of the region. Contact between American dialects has made this region’s speech what it is.
Dialect mixing, one outcome of dialect contact, is the layering together of forms from several varieties in one region. Sometimes, when this layering occurs, a new, distinctly recognizable dialect emerges. This is called dialect focusing. Such a dialect doesn’t sound like any of its parents; it just “sounds like itself.” Other times, the features that are mixed together yield a dialect that contains the “lowest common denominators” from the input varieties – a linguistic middle-ground—free of any features that would mark it off as special in its own right. We might say such a place sounds like “it could be anywhere.” This process is called dialect levelling. Dialect leveling is viewed as a crucial process in the formation of regional standard dialects.
Examples from Scanlon (2019):
and it’s like they just took us up under [deɪ] wings and just say hey c’mon - so they were showing us things outside of this [prɑdʒɛk] (p. 164)
Speaker identifies as African American
[deɪ] “they”: African American English form
th ￫ [d] th-stopping, possessive they
[prɑdʒɛk] “project”: African American English form
ct ￫ [k] consonant cluster simplification
we used to go down there and get pork fried rice [ɹaːs] for fifty-two cent (pp. 163-164).
Speaker identifies as African American.
[ɹaːs] “rice”: African American English form
ai ￫ [aː] (ay)-monophthongization
[sɛnt] “cents”: African American English form
s ￫ ø zero-marking of plural noun
I wanted to hang [heŋ] with the brothers...I’m not trying to be hip or trying [tʃɹaːn] to be cool (p. 170).
Speaker identifies as white.
[heŋ] “hang”: Pacific Northwest English form
æ ￫ [e] prevelar-raising
[tʃɹaːn] “trying”: African American English form
ai ￫ [aː] (ay)-monophthongization
So, did we find that features of African American English mixing with those of other local Englishes? Our answer so far is yes. Our study of Yesler Terrace has found that there are features of African American English as well as current changes taking place in the predominantly white, mainstream regional variety of English spoken in the state. For our African American speakers, we find dialect mixing, but not levelling: African American features are not removed, but retained (e.g., merger of PIN/PEN, monophthongization of (ay) in rice), while the speaker participates in some of the sound changes impacting the Pacific Northwest dialect (e.g., raising of prevelar /æ/ making the vowel in bag sound like the vowel in bagel). This page brings together the history and linguistics of interethnic contact.
Speaker 13 (identifies as a white male) explains how his language is a part of his identity.
“[W]hite people look at me and…they’re like, ‘Where’s this guy from, you know, he sounds like a black guy.’ …This is the way I sound, and this is who I am.”
“Most people when they hear me speak… you know, white people look at me and, cuz’ I feel this a lot of times, and they’re like, “Where’s this guy from, and you know, he sounds like a black guy.” Black people look at me and hear me and listen to me and they think, they wonder if I’m from the South… So I’ve had many, many black people ask me, you know, what part of the South I’m from or where I’m from and when I explain to them I’m from Seattle, you know, the answer I get a lot of times, what they say a lot of time in response is you must’ve lived around black people or grown up around black people or you must be from the hood or something like that. So then I take the time to explain to people that I grew up in Yesler Terrace and, you know, I went to Garfield High School and da-da-da-da-da and - you know this, I’m not trying to be hip or trying to be cool or whatever: this is the way I talk; this is the way I sound. I mean, you know I can—I can jive or whatever you wanna say too, when you’re in that social aspect of it, but when I’m talking I’m just talking. This is the way I sound, and this is who I am."
Speaker 15 (identifies as a black American man) talks about how people were real in Yesler Terrace because of the way they spoke.
“In Yesler Terrace people were real… you know, not ashamed of where they come from… If they say chunk instead of toss, so what?”
"Whereas over here people were, in Yesler Terrace people were real -- they didn’t bite their tongue."
Interviewer: "What makes 'real'?"
"You know, not ashamed of where they come from, not ashamed of who or what they are, not ashamed of their background. If they say this, 'dis,' instead of this, then they’re accepted with 'dis.' If they say tote, instead of carry, you know what they talking about. If they say chunk instead of toss, so what? They’re from the South anyway - you know what I’m saying? And we didn’t look at that, we looked at the person."
Speaker 10 (identifies as a white male) discusses the mix of accents that were found in Yesler Terrace."
“I think there were a number of different accents that happened there [in the Terrace]… We all had something that was a little different in one way or another.”
Interviewer: "Did you ever notice anything about people talking differently in the Terrace?"
"Talking differently - um, you mean for accents? Accents. My father had a real heavy accent. My father spoke seven different languages, and my mother spoke Finnish, so I was always pretty tuned to accents and trying to figure them out. I mean, I was-- by listening carefully you can usually tell what a person means if they're speaking English, even though they may use a little different accent. And I think there were a number of different accents that happened there [in the Terrace]. I can remember some kids, I think they came somewhere from the South, and they had sort of a Southern, different type of an accent so. I mean, we would recognize different accents, but we all had something that was a little different in one way or another."
Speaker 03 (identifies as a white woman) talks about picking up African American slang from living in Yesler Terrace.
“I lived so much in an African American community that I began to sound African American. I used slang unknowingly, and casually.”
"I also - I got to a point where I-- this is gonna sound funny-- but I lived so much in an African American community that I began to sound African American, I used slang unknowingly, casually."
Interviewer: "Oh, is that a fact?"
"And I didn’t even realize this was happening to me."
Interviewer: "How did you become aware of it?"
"Well [Name removed], this person that [Name removed] got connected with, she said, 'You sure sound like you've lived here a long time.' And I guess I have an ear for language, and, as I say, there were - there were, Caucasians or whites and African Americans there."
Interracial Conact:
A centerpiece of SHA’s integration strategy involved making housing assignments without regard to race; an expressed willingness to live in a racially integrated environment was a non-negotiable eligibility criterion. As the first racially integrated low-income public housing community in the United States, YT was an experiment for all involved. For many people of all ethnicities, Yesler Terrace would be their first time residing in a multiracial, multicultural environment. Nonetheless, the opportunity to obtain attractive, conveniently located, affordable housing – in an extremely tight housing market – overrode applicants’ initial apprehensiveness. Most Terrace alumni recall the Terrace as a community that not only was tight knit but was also a community made rich by its diversity of ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
By the mid-1960s, public housing projects had increasingly fallen into disfavor as an option for housing low-income families, yet alumni recalled the benefits of their sojourn at YT. Beginning in 1987, alumni who had grown up in the Terrace in the ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s organized a series of multi-generational reunions for residents from the “old days.”
Speaker 02 (identifies as an African American woman) discusses how the community was tight-knit.
"I don’t care what part of the project you lived in, there was somebody that knew you, …and they were gonna tell your mother on you.”
Interviewer: "So you mentioned community, you think Yesler Terrace was a community?"
"It is a community, yes."
Interviewer: "Why? Why do you think it's a community?"
"Why? Because it's made up of so many… To me, it's made up of so many nations, so many cultures, so many ethnic groups, it's just made up of the nations’ people. To me they all have… We might have been called poor cause we lived in the projects, but we were rich."
Interviewer: "Tell me about that."
"We were rich, we were rich in, I think, in our heritage, culturally, each of us, in our own little groups. You had your Native Americans, you had your Blacks, you had your Whites, you had your other Asian ethnic groups in there, so we were rich in that respect. And I think we were also rich in respect, 'cause there was a respect in that community. I don't care whose child you were, I don't care who your mother was, I don't care what part of the project you lived in, there was somebody that knew you. There was somebody that knew you were a [Name removed] or you were a [Name removed] or you were a somebody, and they were gonna tell your mother on you."
Interviewer: "Right."
"And you knew that. Bottomline."
Speaker 07 (identifies as a man) talks about the lessons he learned on accepting all people as they are.
“I know the Terrace was good for me ‘cause it taught me—like I said—to accept everybody for who they are, not because of the color of their skin or anything else.”
"Well, when I grew up in the first three years, I don't remember anything - it was pretty isolated -- but in Monroe, well, they're all just like me, I guess, there wasn't any other nationality or race, I guess you want to call it, than us."
Interviewer: "Which is what?"
"Caucasian. I didn't, I'd never seen any other thing besides a Caucasian, any other kind of person besides a Caucasian 'til I moved to the Yesler Terrace."
Interviewer: "Okay, all right -- what kind of things struck you when you moved into that kind of neighborhood, then?"
"Well, part of me was fearful, you know; you hear all sorts of stuff about how people of different ethnic backgrounds, how bad they are and all that kind of stuff. You know, so probably I was fearful - not knowing what I was getting into.
"But I had a mother who did not believe in any kind of racial prejudice at all, and she instilled in us very early that we treat people as people, and they’re all the same. I think that she played a very important role in my life of how to look at other people.
"I know the Terrace was good for me 'cause it taught me - like I said-- to accept everybody for who they are, not because of the color of their skin or anything else. And I think the same thing going to Garfield. You go to school with Jewish kids, Catholics, Muslims -- I mean, you name it, we had everything up there. We just accepted people the way they were, and I think that's good, 'cause really it's helped me in my later life."
Interviewer: "How did it help you?"
"Well, when I meet people that are different, it helps me not to form a quick judgment. It helps me to be a little more compassionate for people that may be carrying burdens that I'm not aware of or I have not ever experienced. It opened me much more- being much more compassionate."
Speaker 10 (identifies as a white man) talks about how his mother helped resolve background differences between some of the older residents.
“There was a Jewish woman [who was] hard to get along with… because she was so terribly defensive and felt that she had to be… My mother went and talked to some of these other people, and explained where this woman was coming from, and once they had an idea of [what she had suffered during the war], they just let her be, and things were more harmonious.”
"I don’t think there are too many places where you have an opportunity to learn how to relate to people of different backgrounds. This multicultural, multi-ethnic situation there was unique, and I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately from a number of points of views.
"So being in contact with people from different backgrounds I think gives us a really kind of a leg up in some - and being just - even if you don't understand other cultures, if you're open and have a feeling of comfort dealing with people that are not exactly from your background, I think it's a very valuable thing. And this certainly was true in the Yesler Terrace.
"I can remember just all types of, all kinds of different people and people from different situations. There was a Jewish woman that was one of our neighbors who had suffered quite terribly during the war, and yet she - she was still hard to get along with, by other people, with other neighbors, because she was so terribly defensive and felt that she had to be- she had been treated so poorly in Germany at the time, so… My mother was talking about how there used to be fights in the laundry house between—"
Speaker two: "Laundry room"
"Laundry room between this woman and other people using the laundry room. Then my mother went and talked to some of these other people, and explained where this woman was coming from, and once they had an idea of what her particular problems were, they just let her be, and things were more harmonious. So there was a sense of trying to get along that existed there, as long as people understood where the people were coming from, I think."
Speaker 11 (identifies as a Hispanic woman) talks about having created new traditions at Thanksgiving with her black neighbors.
“It’s funny, I look back now and [the] foods that I like aren’t foods that my mother would have cooked, but they’re more of [my friend’s] culture I think – black culture, at the time – that we were introduced to that I love to this day.”
"The way we became friends with her family was, it was either my brother or my sister had bumped into them at the playground or something and they found out that we weren’t doing anything for Thanksgiving. That we didn’t have a Thanksgiving – a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. So, she didn’t know us from Adam; she invited our family over and she and my mom hit it off – she was a very generous woman that way … You never wanted for food there. I mean she was a fantastic cook, and to this day my favorite pie is lemon meringue pie because she made that pie. I remember that pie. And man, she made a terrific lemon meringue pie. And she made mustard greens. So it’s funny, I look back now and there’s some of my foods that I like aren’t foods that my mother would have cooked, but they’re more of her culture I think – black culture, at the time – that we were introduced to that I love to this day."
Speaker 13 (identifies as a white male) describes how Yesler Terrace was a true melting pot.
“[W]hat made the Terrace different was you didn’t have that choice, you know - when you moved in; if they said you’re gonna live in apartment number six-oh-two, that’s where you lived - and if you had a Asian family living next to you, or a black family living next to you, then that’s the way it was.”
"Now that I look back on my experience and my time that I lived in Yesler Terrace… You know, we were always taught in school that America was this big melting pot, right? But in reality, it wasn’t - everybody was kinda separate. You know, the white people lived in their area, black people lived in their area, Asian people lived in their area, and da-da-da-da-da… But what made the Terrace different was you didn’t have that choice, you know - when you moved in; if they said you’re gonna live in apartment number six-oh-two, that’s where you lived - and if you had a Asian family living next to you, or a black family living next to you, then that’s the way it was. So to me, Yesler Terrace was truly a melting pot, you know, whether you liked it or not."
Speaker 12 (identifies as a Caucasian male) talks about his experience in school with his Jewish classmates getting picked on, and how the kids from Yesler Terrace stuck together to support each other.
“I remember the kids up there would pick on the Jews and I was, 'What's this crap? So, I was a big guy… so I went around some of these people, 'Hey you, back off! I don't want any trouble.' So, they backed off.”
"It was a unique area. It still is."
Interviewer: "What was unique about it?"
"Well, you had a lot of people that had to kinda bind together. You had many different races, different religious groups actually. And uh, there were some Jewish people I remember there. And, in fact when I went to Washington junior high, I remember the kids up there would pick on the Jews, ok, and, 'What's this crap? So, I was a big guy, I was as big as I am right now. So I went around some of these people, 'Hey you, back off! I don't want any trouble.' So, they backed off. And so, even then I would go down with them to the Synagogue right by Washington High."
Interviewer: "Yeah, there was. Where Langston Hughes is now.""
"Is that’s where’s it’s at? Ok. So I went in there a couple times to check it out, and um, that was a unique situation. So it was just a, you know, fun place in the sense that people got along, you know. So many different types of people, and really I never paid much attention to it. It was never promoted that this group was better than this group and so forth. I think today they do too much of that. A lot of the problems, I think."
Interviewer: "What do you mean?"
"Trying to honor this group or this group or that group, and making other people feel bad about themselves maybe, okay? Or that this group gets more than this group, you know. We didn't do that. Go about your business, that's what we did, and we never had a problem."
Community and Belonging:
Many alumni of YT describe the Terrace as a village or family. Alums took advantage of features at Yesler Terrace that encouraged casual interaction among tenants such as clustered play areas and communal laundry areas, as well as a large, centrally located, multipurpose gym and playfield. A variety of organizations such as Seattle Parks and Recreation, Neighborhood House, and various churches sponsored team sports, arts and crafts activities, and other educational offerings. Our informants share fond memories of playing basketball and watching movies together at the Yesler Community Center or taking arts and crafts classes at Neighborhood House. Residents also cooked together and shared food with each other. Many former residents have fond memories of bonds strengthened through shared meals.
Speaker 05 (identifies as a white man) recalls how Yesler Terrace gave him and his wife a place to live when they had no income during their time in graduate school.
“[W]e moved to Seattle with two kids and we [had] both been accepted into graduate school, but we didn't have any savings… and so - We got that apartment for thirty-three dollars a month… it made all the difference.”
Interviewer: "You actually lived in the Terrace."
"For two years, yeah. So it was thirty-three dollars a month, you're talking about services, I mean the services of the Housing Authority, in terms of even having the apartments there and have them subsidized was an incredible godsend to our family. ’Cause we moved to Seattle with two kids and we were both been accepted into graduate school, but we didn't have any savings, and I, at that time, I didn't have a fellowship, and so - We got that apartment for thirty-three dollars a month, so that was, you know, it made all the difference.
"Another thing that was happening then that had a broader, a different kind of a service strategy was to organize the residents of Yesler Terrace beyond, you know, a few serving on advisory committees to Neighborhood House. But in the summer we had block parties, and we would-- I think, I remember vividly, we would set up these big tables in between the blocks of the apartment house blocks."
Speaker 09 (identifies as an African American) woman talks about the block parties they used to have.
“Wednesday for the block parties during the summertime, and, I really did enjoy them, you know, and then we'd move to another site the next following Wednesday and the next following Wednesday.”
"You know what I really liked about the Terrace? When we used to have the block parties--remember the block parties?"
Interviewer: "Yes"
"Oh, they were fun."
Interviewer: "So talk to me about the block parties now."
"Oh, they were so much fun, especially the ones on Washington, down where we lived, down that way when we had it--and you know the parents, I mean people just really participated then. I mean it was fun Wednesday, every Wednesday was a fun Wednesday for the block parties during the summertime, and, I really did enjoy them, you know, and then we'd move to another site, you know, the next following Wednesday and the next following Wednesday--but when it was on Washington where we lived, I just had fun, the kids had fun and everything."
Speaker 06 (identifies as a Chinese American woman) discusses growing up with the Chinese family next door.
“They [had] a son who was four years old, and he became my guide dog or something, you know.”
"We only knew one family. They happened to be Chinese also, next door to us, and it's an older couple, and they have a son who was four years old, and he became my guide dog or something, you know. I remember him taking me to my first Halloween party they have down in the Yesler Terrace Community Center. You know, they show a movie and give you candies. I remember going to one of those with him."
Speaker 03 (identifies as a white woman) talks about how the community was based in relationships./p>
“Community is not just a place to live and hide your head in the closet in your house, but to be connected, to have relationships with people, and I think we certainly developed relationships with people… I was actually sad to move from there.”
Interviewer: "Okay. So, was it a community for you, then, to live in Yesler?"
"Yeah, I would say it was."
Interviewer: "Why?"
"The community that I found was around Neighborhood House, was through Neighborhood House and the first community up on the main walkway, where we were the first year. So I would say yes, it was. What is a community? To me a community is where you live and are connected to the people that surround you. And I think it's very important, and we've always sought community, [so] that you have relationships. Community is not just a place to live and hide your head in the closet in your house, but to be connected, to have relationships with people, and I think we certainly developed relationships with people, and so it's not necessary that you have relationships with everybody right next to you… And I was actually sad to move from there."
Speaker 12 (identifies as a Caucasian male) recounts the importance of his friendships growing up.
“[Y]ou're all in a bad situation in most cases, so you just kind of protect each other, help each other... In the end, it was too bad that everybody disappeared…”
Interviewer: "What kind of good memories and what kind of bad memories do you have about being a Terrace kid?"
"[Laughter] Well the good ones are basically the friendships you created because you're all in a bad situation in most cases, so you just kind of protect each other, help each other. I wouldn't even want to use the word gang, just close friends, you know. In the end, it was too bad that everybody disappeared, you know."
Social Class and Status:
Even though other differences in culture separated the families of Yesler Terrace, many Terrace alumni described a bond that was strengthened by their similar economic status. Terrace residents balanced a sense of group solidarity and pride in their neighborhood with knowledge that many people outside of the project stigmatized them because they lived in a public housing project. Despite the prejudice they experienced because of living in “the projects,” informants were proud to say they came from Yesler Terrace.
Speaker 08 (identifies as a Black African man) remembers the feeling of wanting to move out of the Terrace when he was in school.
“[W]e were the most talked-about group in school… Everybody wanted to get out of the Terrace because you were the joke. And that’s why I think I tried so hard, athletically, to get out, never go back, and never have anybody in my family ever on welfare or food stamps.”
"Well, I remember we were the most talked-about group in school, ‘cause the people that lived in the Valley had houses; we were the poor kids from the projects. It was always - we were always the butt of jokes, remember? You don’t remember the ranking and all that stuff that happened in gym classes and, sometimes in classrooms and things like that. Everybody wanted to get out of the Terrace because you were the joke. And that’s why I think I tried so hard, athletically, to get out, never go back, and never have anybody in my family ever on welfare or food stamps. I was gonna make it no matter what happened, you know, and that was just my goal."
Speaker 01 (identifies as a Black woman) talks about the pride many people had about living in Yesler Terrace and the successes they had in life.
“[W]e raised our kids, and properly enough to where they don’t think that they’re better than anybody, and we’re not ashamed to say we came from the projects.”
"But most of the people that stayed in the projects and came out of the projects have done very well for themselves. I mean, very well, they are blessed. I don’t care if they didn’t go to college, you know, they’ve been able to work, have their own, stay out of trouble; they just being down to earth, knowing how to respect each other, and…. we raised our kids, and properly enough to where they don’t think that they’re better than anybody, and we’re not ashamed to say we came from the projects. Now, I know a couple of them to this day, who will not identify themselves as coming from the projects."
Speaker 13 (identifies as a white man) talks about the mix of different economic classes from when he lived in Yesler Terrace.
“[S]ome people had better clothes than other people, some people’s family had better cars, or some of us didn’t have a car in our family at all, you know, so… Even within the so-called low-income neighborhood that we lived in, there were various economic levels also.”
"Even though supposedly that we were all low-income, it seemed like there were people who were low-income and there were other families that were like dirt poor, but there were other families that seemed like they had more than the rest of us, too. ‘Cause, some people had better clothes than other people, some people’s family had better cars, or some of us didn’t have a car in our family at all, you know, so… Even within the so-called low-income neighborhood that we lived in, there were various economic levels also…"
Speaker 06 (identifies as a Chinese American woman) talks about not realizing she was poor as a child because of the sense of security Yesler Terrace provided her.
“[T]o me at the time, probably it was stressful for my parents to manage, but for me, I felt carefree, you know.”
"Well you know, when I think about -- I have tons of fond memories of when I was growing up as a child, with my extended family, but when I think about here, it's all those memories from the project -- maybe during that period of time or I don't know what it is, the security maybe, having your own home and just -- um, having your own room. And, to me at that time, probably it was stressful for my parents to manage, but for me, I felt carefree, you know. I mean, I was able have my own cat, my turtle, something I want for Christmas. I mean -- I guess I didn't realize we were poor, you know, so you just appreciate what you have."
Language:
In the 70+ years since our informants first moved to Yesler Terrace, the area has gone through massive transitions.
In 2013, Yesler Terrace’s original housing units were replaced with new low-rise apartment buildings, six storeys with retail on the ground floor. These new apartment buildings aim to replace all 561 of the original public low-income units, as well as creating up to 1,100 additional low-income units. Other units, however, will be available at higher rental rates for families and individuals with higher incomes.
These renovations come with many questions.
How can a diverse, integrated, and neighborly community be encouraged in the new Yesler Terrace?
Will children still be able to gather at the community center for basketball and movie nights? As the new Yesler Terrace attracts potential residents from a diverse set of economic backgrounds (some more well-off, some not), what types of bonds will be made, if residents do not all share similar economic status?
What will encourage neighbors to get to know each other?
In this project, we have aimed to share some of the key values and precious memories of the early residents of the Yesler Terrace housing community. It remains to be seen, however, what kinds of stories that will be told at the new Yesler Terrace.
Speaker 07 (identifies as a man) talks about how Yesler Terrace was and is a necessary place.
“I just hope they don’t tear the Terrace down. Too many people need a place like that.”
Interviewer: "Any… ok this is your last chance. Anything else you want to add?"
"I just hope they don't tear the Terrace down."
Interviewer: "Yeah - why?"
"Um… too many people need a place like that."
Interviewer: "Okay."
"Ooh, my life would be a whole lot different -- and I don't think it would've been for the better."
Speaker 12 (identifies as a Caucasian male) talks about how the Terrace made a difference in his life.
“You just never [gave] up. Like when I went to college, I mean no one in my family had ever gone to college.”
Interviewer: "If any, what difference do you think it made that you had those years in the Terrace, and how your life became?"
"Well, you were taught to be very independent, you know, and you survived, basically, anything, nothing, after you got through that, uh, you just never give up, you know. Like when I went to college, I mean no one in my family had ever gone to college, and to be able to get these jobs, and then you get enough money to go live in places where you would never want to live, if you didn’t have to, you know. Basically survival. On your own, you know, and uh, with… well, my mother did her best to give support, you know, but there was nobody else. I think the toughness of the situation."
Interviewer: "The what?"
"Getting—going through all these tough things and surviving all that. I think, uh, and that way to get to where I got, you know, and to instill that in my kids."
Speaker 09 (identifies as an African American woman) discusses the importance of the relationships she had with her neighbors in Yesler Terrace.
“[T]hat means a lot to me when they come up and say "Hi Miss [Name removed]," you know... It was just like more closely knit.”
"I mean I feel real good about it. I feel that, you know, I joined some people that I probably wouldn't have never met, and I got to be friends with some that I'm still friends with, and even their children know me. I don't know them. And that means a lot to me when they come up and say "Hi Miss [Name removed]," you know. I don't know them and they say, "Miss [Name removed], I'm so and so's daughter or son." It was just like more closely knit, you know, then living when I met [Name removed], when I moved out, you know. When I moved out it was a whole different ballgame, you know. I didn’t know anyone down there, you know. Nothing like that."
Speaker 14 (identifies as an African American woman) talks about organizing the 2013 reunion for the “old-timers” from the first 25 years of Yesler Terrace.
“What I always wanted to do was get everybody together, you know? And to just see what each other’s doing, you know, and who has children, who doesn’t, to see the guys you used to like… Yeah, and how many people had moved on.”
Interviewer: "So, how did the reunions get started?"
"Well, I wanted to go back and just see, if we all got together, who would come and be able to see each other. What I always wanted to do was get everybody together, you know? And to just see what each other’s doing, you know, and who has children, who doesn’t, to see the guys you used to like…"
Speaker two: "Yeah, and how many people had passed on."
Interviewer: "How did you all contact people for the reunions?"
"Well, just by word of mouth, and when I got people’s addresses, I sent out invitations to the addresses I had, or sent out notices (I don’t call them invitations) but sent out notices, and people told people, and that’s how it happened."
Acknowledgements
The Yesler Terrace alumni quoted on this website were all interviewed by Dr. M. Jean Harris. Many thanks to Dr. Jean Harris and all her invaluable contributions to this project and her further scholarship on the Yesler Terrace community.
Thanks also to help from UW Digital Collections staff, Dr. Michael Scanlon, and film archivists at the UW Libraries.
Scanlon, Michael (2020). Stylistic variation in African American Language: examining the social meaning of linguistic features in a Seattle community. PhD Dissertation, University of Washington.
