 While in college he saw firsthand the discrimination against African Americans in Salem when he was tasked by his fraternity after a dinner with driving their guest, Black artist Paul Robeson back to Portland, as African Americans were prohibited from staying in hotels in Salem. In 1953, he introduced and passed legislation in the House that prohibited discrimination based on race in public accommodations before federal legislation and court decisions did so on a national level. In 1954, Hatfield ran and won a seat in the Oregon State Senate representing Marion County. While in the legislature, he continued to apply the grassroots strategy he learned from Earl Snell, but expanded it to cover the entire state to increase his political base.
