Pratt Fine Arts Center serves as a lasting tribute to Edwin T. Pratt, a man who relentlessly championed open and equal access to educational and housing opportunities for all of Seattle’s residents. As director of the Seattle Urban League, Pratt was a key participant in civil rights campaigns against housing discrimination, school segregation, employment bias, and police brutality.

In 2019, 50 years after Edwin's life was taken, Pratt Fine Arts Center proudly published a new essay celebrating his life and legacy in the context of the local and national civil rights movement:

Edwin T. Pratt: Excellence and Opportunity 
by local author Nancy Rawles