Fort Lawton was established to provide protection for the navy yard built at Bremerton in 1891 as well the cities along Puget Sound and the commerce generated by them. The development of Fort Lawton was encouraged by civic leaders in Seattle for economic reasons and to curb lawlessness. Although intended primarily as an infantry post, the first soldiers to arrive on July 26, 1901, were artillerymen. One year later, this artillery installation, the Puget Sound Harbor Defense Command, was moved to Fort Warden and the first infantry soldiers arrived in Fort Lawton. It remained an infantry post throughout most of its years, and Seattle's hopes for a major military installation were not to be realized.

Describes the 1944 lynching murder of an Italian POW at Seattle's Fort Lawton, the international outcry that followed, and the court-martial, the largest of World War II, that accused more than forty African-American soldiers of the crime.

A midnight hanging and blood-splattered wounded. Come back to a summer night in August of 1944 at Fort Lawton in Seattle for an exploration of violence and mayhem. On that night two hundred American black soldiers attacked Italian POWs in their barracks and orderly room. After the belated arrival of MPs, dozens of the wounded were taken to the hospital. In turn, the War Department began a monthly IG investigation as to the causes of the riot and more. A court martial ensued and 28 soldiers were found guilty of participating in a riot. Other Italian and German POWs in the Seattle area during WW II however avoided mayhem.

Seattle's Gang of Four changed the face of the city in the 1960s, '70s, and '80s by bringing four ethnic groups together in battle against city powerbrokers over development, poverty, fishing rights, and gentrification. The four leaders learned quickly that working together provided greater results than working apart. This is the story of a powerful political alliance and lifelong friendships forged through sit-ins, protest rallies, and other acts of civil disobedience. "We got very good at occupying buildings," remarked one of the Gang. Bob Santos and Gary Iwamoto recall how a Native American, Asian American, African American, and Mexican American came together to fight for their neighborhoods and their people. Bob Santos has spent most of his life in the International District of Seattle. He grew up in the N.P. Hotel with his widowed father, Sammy Santos, a professional prizefighter. He was hired in 1972 to lead the International District Improvement Association (Inter*Im). During his tenure at Inter*Im, Santos organized property owners, businesses, residents, and activists from the Asian American community to preserve the neighborhood and build new housing. Gary Iwamoto is a regular contributing writer for the International Examiner, an Asian Pacific Islander community newspaper. He has written several plays, notably Miss Minidoka 1943, which was produced by the Northwest Asian American Theater. He and Bob Santos also wrote Humbows, Not Hot Dogs in 2002.

When American Indians left reservations in the 1950s, enticed by the federal governmentÕs relocation program, many were drawn to cities like Tacoma and Seattle. But in these new homes they found unemployment and discrimination, and they were no better off. Sin Aikst Indian Bernie Whitebear was an urban activist in the Pacific Northwest during the last decades of the twentieth century, a man dedicated to improving the lives of Indians and other ethnic groups by working for change and justice. He unified Northwest tribes to fight for the return of their land and was the first to accomplish this in the United States. But far from a fearsome agitator, Bernie was a persuasive figure who won the praise and admiration of an entire community. Bernie began organizing powwows in the 1960s with an eye toward greater authenticity; and by making a name in the Seattle area as an entertainment promoter, he soon became a successful networker and master of diplomacy, enabling him to win over those who had long ignored the problems of urban Indians. Soft-spoken but outspoken, Bernie successfully negotiated with officials at all levels of government on behalf of Indians and other minorities, crossing into political territory normally off-limits to his people. Bernie WhitebearÕs story takes readers from an impoverished youthÑincluding a rare account of life on the Colville Reservation during the 1930sÑto the ÒRed PowerÓ movement as it traces BernieÕs emergence as an activist influenced by contemporaries such as Bob Satiacum, Vine DeLoria, and Joe Delacruz. By choosing this course, Bernie was clearly making a break with his past, but with an eye toward a better future, whether staging the successful protest at Fort Lawton or acting on behalf of Native fishing rights in Puget Sound. When he died in July 2000, Bernie Whitebear had left an inestimable legacy, accomplishing things that no other Indian seemed able to do. His biography is an inspiring story for readers at many levels, an account of how one American Indian overcame hardships and obstacles to make a difference in the lives of his peopleÑand an entire community.