The Communism in Washington State History and Memory Project, is a multimedia website chronicling the little-studied history of the Communist Party USA in the state from its origins in the 1920s to the present. The website uses video interviews, vintage photographs, original research reports and other materials to chronicle the eventful history of the organization from its influence in the reform movement of the 1930s to the red scare of the 1950s and beyond. The unique initiative is part of the Pacific Northwest Labor and Civil Rights History Projects developed by the University of Washington.
Content
An eight-part illustrated essays details the distinct periods within the organization’s tumultuous existence. Additional original articles examine significant figures like Harold Pritchett, and oral histories by longtime members provide first-hand perspectives. Special sections examine the Canwell Committee HUAC Hearings of the Washington State Legislature, a 1948 initiative that prefigured McCarthyism. It includes a rare interview with the Committee’s head, Albert Canwell, the complete text of the hearings and excerpts from a 1988 play that dramatized the tension-filled proceedings. Other sections include a digitized repository of more than 200 articles and cartoons from Communist and Communist-influenced newspapers dating from the 1930s and 1940s and art from Richard Correll, who later became a well-respected artist.