Seattle Opportunities Industrialization Center (SOIC) Office

The site is significant in African American history in terms of its historic use and its association with Dr. Samuel McKinney, Dr. Leon Sullivan (founder of the OIC Movement) and Ellsworth “Connie” Hall (Deputy Director of OIC). It had a significant role in shaping the lives of Seattle’s African American population. 

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Seattle Opportunities Industrialization Center (SOIC) was established in 1966 by Rev. Dr. Samuel McKinney in the basement of Mount Zion Baptist Church, Room 216 as a non-profit community based vocational training center. It facilitated pre-vocational and job preparation training, educational diplomas for the minority groups who were either unemployed or underemployed and required skills to earn a good enough living. McKinney’s educational model was replicated in OIC founded in 1964. Nearly a thousand students got employed in the 1970s after joining OIC Seattle.