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The recent protests in the wake of the death of George Floyd aren鈥檛 the first time elected officials in Washington state have been confronted by citizens calling for change for communities of color.

Daniel J. Evans, who served as Washington鈥檚 governor from 1965 to 1977, can still recall a particular day more than 50 years ago. On a summer day in 1967, Evans visited Seattle鈥檚 Central Area, then the city鈥檚 mostly Black neighborhood, to listen to citizens.

In the aftermath, the wheels of state government began turning for a modest, yet meaningful change that many still remember.

Evans is 94 years old. He鈥檚 a lifelong Republican, but he鈥檚 an old-school Northwest Republican, which means he鈥檚 fairly moderate on many issues, and even considered progressive on some, such as protecting the environment.

Evans was elected governor in 1964 and served three consecutive terms. He鈥檚 the only person to do that in state history, though Jay Inslee will attempt to match his record later this year.

A Republican governor鈥檚 12-year tenure in now very 鈥渂lue鈥� Washington is an example of how, in the not-so-distant past, the Evergreen State often had a 鈥渟plit ticket鈥� sensibility, with Democrats and Republicans sharing the spoils in the same statewide elections for governor, the U.S. Senate, and even the White House.

While Evans was governor, Washington also had two powerful Democratic U.S. Senators 鈥� Scoop Jackson and Warren Magnuson. In presidential elections during and bracketing the Evans era, majorities of Washington voters chose Democrat Lyndon Johnson in 1964; Democrat Hubert Humphrey in 1968; Republican Richard Nixon in 1972; and Republican Gerald Ford in 1976.

The former governor, who grew up in Seattle, lives in Laurelhurst with his wife. After leaving the governor鈥檚 office in 1977, Evans was president of The Evergreen State College, and then was appointed in 1983 by Republican Governor John Spellman to Scoop Jackson鈥檚 U.S. Senate seat when Jackson died (and Evans subsequently won a special election to keep the seat, too). He鈥檚 been working on his autobiography for many years.

In the late 1960s, Dan Evans was an up-and-coming figure in the national Republican party. In August 1968, he gave the keynote at the 1968 Republican Convention in Miami; he made the cover of Time Magazine; and he was elected that autumn to his second term as governor. However, as a supporter of Nelson Rockefeller in the primaries, Evans鈥� national prospects may have dimmed somewhat when Richard M. Nixon won the Republican nomination and ultimately took the White House.

A few days ago, Governor Evans described the visit he made to Seattle鈥檚 Central Area on August 2, 1967, where he intended to hear from citizens one-on-one, in a meeting room at the East Madison YMCA.

鈥淚 announced that I was willing to go up to the Central Area without an agenda, but just to sit and listen to anybody who wanted to come in and talk to the governor,鈥� Evans said. 鈥淚 just wanted to, by myself, meet with whoever wanted to come in.鈥�

While staff members waited outside the room, the governor met with individuals to hear their concerns or answer their questions. If appropriate, the visitors were introduced to particular staff members for additional assistance with whatever problem or issue they鈥檇 discussed with the state鈥檚 leader.

鈥淚t was a fascinating day,鈥� Evans said.

Evans says the various meetings with individuals and a few groups went pretty smoothly until right near the end of the day.

鈥淭he last group were ushered in, and there were half a dozen African American teenagers,鈥� Evans said. 鈥淲e sat down, and I greeted each one of them, and then, man, did it start.鈥�

鈥淭hey just unloaded with all of the problems that they saw in their community, and it got fairly fierce, but I was listening,鈥� he said.

But then, the mood quickly shifted.

鈥淥ne of the young guys sitting at the other end the table just put up his arm and pointed his forefinger at me with the thumb up and said, 鈥楪overnor, if I had a gun right now, I’d shoot you,鈥欌�� Evans said. 鈥淎nd he pushed his thumb down as if the gun was going off.鈥�

鈥淚 was silent for a few moments, and finally I said, 鈥榃ell, what good would that do?鈥� [And] he said, 鈥榃ell, [there鈥檇 be] one less honky to deal with.鈥欌�� Evans said. 鈥淎nd with that, the rest of them figured that they had overstayed their welcome.鈥�

But that wasn鈥檛 the end of it.

Before they left the East Madison YMCA, Evans invited the group of teenagers to come to Olympia to meet at the Governor鈥檚 Office a week later to continue the discussion and focus on solutions.

That follow-up meeting turned out to be a lively two-hour exchange. Toward the end of the session, one of the kids asked a pointed question about the difficulties that Central Area residents faced in accessing public services.

The young man asked, Evans said, 鈥溾�楪overnor, why do we have to take two bus rides in one direction to get to the local health department or two bus rides in the other direction to get to … other services?,鈥� and I said 鈥楴o, that doesn’t make sense. You’re absolutely right.鈥欌��

鈥�’So I’ll tell you what we’ll do,鈥欌�� Evans continued, quickly seizing on a practical way to rapidly make a difference for what was an underserved community. 鈥�’We’ll set up an office in the Central Area within 30 days, and we’ll combine our forces so that it would be a one-stop place, I swear. You can come in and all of the services that are appropriate for the community will be in one place.鈥欌��

鈥淎nd 30 days later, we opened,鈥� Evans said.

What came to be known as the Multiservice Center opened in a storefront at 23rd and Jackson on Sept. 11, 1967. According to The Seattle Times, the state agencies represented there included, 鈥淓mployment Security, Personnel and Public Assistance Departments, the Board Against Discrimination, the Office of Economic Opportunity and the University of Washington.鈥�

Within six months, the footprint of the center tripled, and state agencies were joined by federal and city representatives, furthering the facility鈥檚 reach and ensuring it really did live up to its 鈥渕ultiservice鈥� name. The center was in operation in the Central Area for many years.

鈥淚 figured that that was one of the better things we did during the time I was governor,鈥� Evans said.

Governor Evans also worked to convince construction unions to open up apprenticeship programs to minorities. Demonstrations and other job actions by Black activists made it clear that this was a critical issue.

鈥淲e needed to really find a way to open up opportunity in the construction industry, and the only way we could do that was if we opened up apprenticeship programs to all races,鈥� Evans said. 鈥淭here were no Blacks in the construction industry in those days.鈥�

Through negotiations with unions and changes to state contracting policies, Evans helped open up those unions to Black apprentices and workers.

The former governor鈥檚 recollections of the genesis of the Multiservice Center, as well as his progressive reputation regarding civil rights, are borne out by the recollections of other community members who were active in Seattle in the late 1960s.

Eddie Rye鈥檚 family came to Seattle in the early 1950s. He鈥檚 been an activist for decades, and is perhaps best known for the successful campaign he led in the early 1980s to rename Empire Way after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Rye says that Seattle was a segregated city in the 1960s, with redlining in neighborhoods; jobs and businesses that were off limits to Black people; and police harassment 鈥� all the elements of the systemic racism that has been at the forefront in demonstrations and in the national conversation since the death of George Floyd.

In 1968, Rye supported the for Lieutenant Governor. Fletcher was Black and a Republican, and is considered by some to be 鈥渢he father of Affirmative Action.鈥� During the 1968 campaign, as Fletcher gave speeches around the state, Rye spent a lot of time around Dan Evans, who also supported Fletcher鈥檚 campaign.

Fletcher ultimately lost the election to incumbent Democrat , but Evans made an impression on Rye.

鈥淒an Evans was committed to being right, fair, and just鈥� in the late 1960s, Rye said. And last year, says Rye, the former governor supported an initiative campaign to restore Affirmative Action in the state.

鈥淸奥颈迟丑闭 , Dan Evans was one of the co-chairs [working] to bring Affirmative Action back to Washington state,鈥� Rye said.

鈥淪o he鈥檚 been consistent over the decades,鈥� he added.

Longtime former King County Councilmember also remembers Evans鈥� support for civil rights.

In 1968, Gossett was the leader of the Black Student Union at the University of Washington, and organized a famous 鈥� and famously effective 鈥� occupation of UW President Charles Odegaard鈥檚 office on May 20, 1968.

Councilmember Gossett said earlier this week that the Black Student Union had hoped to begin the occupation while Governor Evans was meeting with Odegaard in Odegaard鈥檚 office, but it turned out that Evans was elsewhere.

However, Gossett said, 鈥淚’m confident that the governor would have been very helpful had he been there because he had shown support for various community improvement projects in the African-American community.鈥�

Gossett remembers the Multiservice Center, and he also remembers Governor Evans supporting efforts to integrate the construction trades.

鈥淔or a being a Republican,鈥� Gossett said, 鈥渉e was pretty progressive and supportive of civil rights, particularly for the African-American community.鈥�

Black Panthers local co-founder Elmer Dixon has a different perspective.

In an email, Dixon said that the Black Panthers didn鈥檛 pay attention to elected officials because 鈥渨e were not civil rights activists, we were revolutionaries and didn鈥檛 ask the government for anything.鈥�

Dixon said he had no recollection of the Multiservice Center, but acknowledges 鈥渢here may have been things Evans did that were progressive and have eluded my memory.鈥�

Evans鈥� August 1967 visit to the Central Area and the subsequent opening of the Multiservice Center are mentioned in 鈥�,” UW History Professor Emeritus landmark 1994 book about the neighborhood鈥檚 history.

Taylor also writes that, unlike City of Seattle officials in those years, Governor Evans 鈥渟poke out forcefully鈥� on the issue of open housing. The Seattle City Council finally outlawed discriminatory housing practices by unanimous vote in 1968 on a measure introduced by Sam Smith, who鈥檇 been recently elected as the city鈥檚 first Black councilmember.

Looking around at the current unrest, Governor Evans sees a major difference.

鈥淭he young protesters of that era [the 1960s] knew what they were seeking in a more focused way than the protesters of today,鈥� he wrote in an email.

Both Larry Gossett and Eddie Rye also point to the differences they see in the protests 鈥� and protesters 鈥� this time.

鈥淲e never had the numbers and diversity of people that they have out on the street鈥� in the past several weeks, Gossett said, recalling the mostly Black and fairly small numbers of people who demonstrated for civil rights in Seattle more than 50 years ago. Gossett finds this change encouraging.

Rye is also encouraged by 鈥渢he outpouring in all 50 states … and Gig Harbor and North Dakota, South Dakota, all 50 states and 18 countries,鈥� where protests have taken place.

Looking back nearly 53 years later, the spirit of the Multiservice Center was summed up best by a question a community member asked Governor Evans at the formal dedication event held a few months after the center had opened.

鈥淒uring that gathering, one woman came up to me and said, in about seven words, she had it locked in,鈥� Evans recalled. 鈥淪he said, 鈥楪overnor, how do you like our center?鈥欌��

鈥淭he fact that she used the word 鈥榦ur鈥� 鈥� instead of 鈥榶our,鈥� or 鈥榯he state鈥檚,鈥� or some other thing,鈥� Evans said, 鈥渢hat made the whole thing worthwhile, because that’s how people ought to be thinking about their government.鈥�

You can hear Feliks every Wednesday and Friday morning on Seattle鈥檚 Morning News and read more from him鈥�here. If you have a story idea, please email Feliks鈥�here.