Florasina Ware (December 7, 1912 - 1981) was an American activist, radio show host, and foster mother in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

. Ware led a number of campaigns in Seattle to improve living conditions for children, the elderly and the poor. She pressed school officials in the Central Area schools to improve the academic programmes, and later became an organizer of the Central Area School Board. She called for quality care for aged people and led the Meals on Wheels program in the city. She also called for more employment support for the poor. Ware was involved with the Foster Parent Association and raised 20 foster children in her home. From 1968 to 1979 she hosted a radio talk show on Seattle station

KRAB Krab or KRAB may refer to: * Krab (surname) * Crab stick, or krab, processed seafood * Russian submarine ''Krab'' * AHS Krab, a Polish 155 mm self-propelled howitzer * KRAB, a radio station in Greenacres, California, U.S. * KRAB, a former r ...

. In 1968 she led a group of around 50 indigenous and black people in a convoy of buses to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, to voice grievances about their living conditions; the group became known as the Poor People's Campaign. In the 1970s she sat on the

King County King County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 12th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle ...

Equal Opportunity Board and was involved in the

Model Cities Program The Model Cities Program was an element of U.S. President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society and War on Poverty. The concept was presented by labor leader Walter Reuther to President Johnson in an off-the-record White House meeting on May 20, 1965 ...

. In 1982, a Seattle park was named for her. A piece of public art at Symphony station also pays tribute to her work.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ware, Flo 1912 births 1981 deaths Activists from Seattle African-American activists 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 20th-century American people Poor People's Campaign