In April 1968 the County City Building on Tacoma Avenue was barely a decade old. Having replaced the towering 1890 Romanesque Pierce County Courthouse, the building had hardly earned a place in the region’s history but that was about to change. After Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination on April 4th, Tacoma’s civic leaders, the Ministerial Alliance, the NAACP and civil rights supporters across the region planned a march on Mother’s Day April 7th. It was the first time the government building was the focus of a broad organized civic action with more than a thousand people marching from churches and meeting halls to the steps of local government. The Mother’s Day marches happened across America after Dr. King was killed in Memphis but in Tacoma it marked an important local movement towards civil rights and social justice. In the weeks and months that followed, Tacoma’s City government was thrown into one of the most tumultuous periods in its history resulting in the resignation of the City Manager, recall of a majority of the City Council, and the intersession of the Governor in order to operate the City. Times were changing and sadness led to constructive non-violent action in the City after this important day in our history.

From RecapturedCity by Andy Cox

Tacomans joined a grieving nation in shock over the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on April 4, 1968. The Tacoma Ministerial Alliance and the Tacoma branch of the NAACP sponsored a memorial march and tribute on Sunday, April 7th. Over 1,000 local citizens joined the silent march from St. John’s Baptist Church, 2001 South “J,” to a rally at the County-City Building. Marchers, black and white, are seen proceeding down So. 9th St.

Memorial march for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, April 7, 1968, was a solemn day in Tacoma and other cities in the nation. Americans paid tribute to the slain civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., with memorial services, marches and a national day of mourning declared by President Lyndon Johnson. 1000 people, black and white, including a large number of young people and accompanied by a police escort, participated in a silent march in Tacoma. They marched from South “J” Street to 9th, swung down to Tacoma Avenue and turned right to gather in front of the County-City Building. There they would listen to speeches from the Rev. J.A. Boles and Frank Russell, president of the Tacoma branch of the NAACP, among others.

TPL