Gautier, Freddie Mae Hurd
Individual, Gautier, Freddie Mae Hurd
- Biography
- Freddie Mae Hurd Gautier received a BS from Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama, and did post graduate work at UCLA. Born in Seattle, she was adopted by Fred G. and Minnie Purnell Hurd. She married Raymond J. Gautier on July 15, 1961.
Gautier first worked as a matron in the King County Sheriff’s office from 1953 to 1967. In 1963, she co-founded the local chapter of Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and later became the Western Vice President of the regional branch of the organization.
In 1963, Gautier founded the Benefit Guild with eleven other women, a charitable organization designed to promote unity and improve racial, social, and economic conditions in the community. The Guild sponsored community programs for SCLC, participated in civil rights activities, and clothed and educated low-income families.
In 1964, Gautier, a Republican, ran unsuccessfully for one of the two 37th District Legislative seats, defeated by Democrat Sam Smith, who later became the first African American elected to the Seattle City Council. Gautier babysat Jimmy Hendrix and spoke at his funeral in 1970.
In 1971, Gautier became secretary of the newly formed non-partisan political group, Black Action for Democracy (BAD) that registered black voters, sought qualified black candidates, and provided them support and resources. She also worked as a community organizer for the Central Area Motivation Program (CAMP) and became director of the Model Cities Group Home Program that provided homes for delinquent youth. She also worked to establish the Seattle Tennis Center in the Central Area and ensure creation of the Martin Luther King Memorial in 1981.
In 1989 she worked for the election of Norm Rice, Seattle’s first black mayor and Mayor Rice named September 11, 1990 “Freddie Mae Gautier Day” in Seattle.
Gautier managed the records section for the Seattle Municipal Court until her retirement in 1997.