Byrd Barr Place CEO Andrea Caupain met with previous CAMP historian, Mr. Ivan King, over lunch last Thursday (8/9/12). Mr. King worked at CAMP during CAMP’s heyday of 1967, when CAMP employed over 300 people, staffed by dedicated youth and volunteers who took action to better the community. Mr. King had just transitioned from the Assistant Director of the Seattle Urban League to the Program Director of the Central Area Motivation Program’s Action Education Centers (AEC). While acting as the Program Director for the AECs, Mr. King oversaw more than 50 employees and volunteers who ran these after school community action and homework centers in 11 Central Area schools. Students received help with their homework while learning about African American history and activism. One of the greatest accomplishments to come out of these AECs was the implementation of Black History curriculum within the public school system.
The AECs only received funding for one year and the program closed, but Mr. King continued his work with Seattle’s Model Cities Program as the Employment and Economic Development Coordinator. Mr. King stayed a touchstone for CAMP throughout the years, and in 1990 he wrote “The Central Area Motivation Program: A Brief History of a Community in Action.”
Ms. Caupain was delighted to get in touch with Mr. King over lunch and solicited his feedback and support for the rebranding. Here at Byrd Barr Place we are honored to get to know Mr. King and look forward to working with him to preserve Byrd Barr Place’s impressive legacy in the coming years.
