This day in history: Panel said covert racism was rife in Spokane. Washington State College awaited arrival of cougar kittens who would be mascots

From 1976: Racism was rife in Spokane, but it was covert instead of overt, said a panel of speakers sponsored by the League of Women Voters.

“Covert discrimination is so bad in Spokane, the CIA should come here to take lessons (in covert activities),” said Carlos Flores, organizer of the Mexican-American Society in Spokane.

Denny Yasuhara, representing the Spokane Coalition for Human Rights, said that there is a good deal of “socially accepted racism.”

One member of the audience declared that Spokane was “known as one of the most racist cities anywhere.”

Other speakers pushed back on that notion. Several “young white males in the audience” said they were concerned about “reverse discrimination” caused by affirmative action goals and quotas.

From 1926: Washington State College was awaiting the arrival of two cougar kittens, “to be raised as school mascots.”

They were being donated to the college by the United States Biological Survey’s animal control department in Olympia.

“Much speculation as to how the animals are to be kept is entertaining the campus at present,” said the Spokane Daily Chronicle. “Some think movable cages in the center of the campus, where everyone might see them, would be advisable. Others have suggested they be rented to the fraternity and sorority houses by the week, by way of entertainment.”

Also on this day

(From onthisdday.com)

1945: Allied planes begin bombing the German city of Dresden, resulting in a devastating firestorm that destroys the city and kills more than 22,000 people.