1968: The Year That Rocked Washington

1968: The Year That Rocked Washington” spotlights 19 Washingtonians whose lives reflected the unsettling problems and soaring ideals of the Sixties. Whether it was Ralph Munro fighting for the rights of people with disabilities; Polly Dyer protecting natural treasures with cheerful tenacity; Arthur Fletcher and Maxine Mimms striving to improve educational and job opportunities for African-Americans, or the valor of Green Beret Sgt. Bryon Loucks deep in the jungles of Vietnam, these Washingtonians came from very different backgrounds. They may have had differing politics and goals. But they had one thing in common: The courage of their convictions.

As Governor Dan Evans said of the half-dozen volunteers who crafted and lobbied for Washington’s revolutionary Education for All law, “It didn’t take huge amounts of money. It didn’t take paid lobbyists. It took citizens who cared.”