Beatrice and Robert Coleman, a couple with a long-running battle for equality here in Fairbanks, in the years following World War 2.
The story begins with Beatrice and Robert Coleman walking down downtown Fairbanks in October 1946. Whipped by cruel fall wind, the pair stopped at Hill's Cocktail Lounge, aiming to warm up and have drinks.
The Black couple seated themselves, awaiting service. Staff pointedly ignored them for quite some time. When they finally get attention, the waiter tells Beatrice he can't serve them.
The Black couple leave without further questions.
But, Beatrice Coleman was not okay with this. She later returned to the lounge, demanding an explanation. Bar owner Rudy Hill declares he has “the right to refuse service to anyone I see fit.”
In the aftermath, Beatrice contacts the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. NAACP attorney Franklin H. William took the case to court, citing Alaska's Anti-Discrimination Act of 1945.
The Coleman's become the first to test this law.
U.S. commissioner Eleanor Ely fined Hills $50, an amount worth over $500 today. Hill and his team find a loophole, overturning the ruling on a technicality in language…
The Colemans resume their battle, pressing for legislation addressing the glaring discrimination.
Territorial senator Edward Anderson and others introduced a bill to amend the act. Both the house and senate pass it, delivering another small but triumphant victory over discrimination in territorial Alaska.
-KUAC's Shyler Umphenour