Frank Jenkins Jr. was the grandson of a runaway slave, first son of a Buffalo Soldier, a native Filipino and one of Seattle’s first African-American labor leaders. He worked for nearly half a century as a longshoreman and member of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.In 1955, Frank Jenkins was wrongfully punished by the Coast Guard after testifying in support of Harry Bridges at Bridges’ deportation trial.
Now, a new $250,000 fellowship at the UW Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies has been established in his name.
A majority of the fellowship was contributed by ILWU Local 19. A ceremony honoring Jenkins and officially kicking off the fellowship was held Friday, Aug. 10. The Harry Bridges Center anticipates soliciting applications in the spring, with the first annual fellowship awarded in fall of 2019.
