Larry Gossett (1945-) was born and raised in Seattle, and by the late 1960s was one of Seattle’s best known young black radicals. In 1967 he was active in the Seattle chapter of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and in 1968 he co-founded the University of Washington Black Student Union (UW BSU). Gossett served as executive director of CAMP, the Central Area Motivation Program from 1979-1993. In 1993, Gossett was elected to the King County Council, where he served six terms before being defeated in 2019.

Roberto Felipe Maestas (1938-2010) was a Mexican American activist in Seattle. Maestas became involved in UW civil rights and antiwar demonstrations in the late 1960s to early 1970s and was a fierce advocate for Chicano and other minority concerns. He led the occupation of the old Beacon Hill School in 1972, leading to the founding of the Chicano community center El Centro de la Raza. Maestas was executive Director of El Centro de la Raza until 2009, and continued to act in an advisory capacity until his death the following year.

Here, Larry Gossett (left) and Roberto Maestas wait at a Seattle City Council meeting to speak in support of establishing a Chicano center at the old Beacon Hill School. Latino students had occupied the old school building since October 11. After three months of protests and occupations, the city agreed to lease the Beacon Hill School to the group, leading to the establishment of El Centro de la Raza, which still provides services and advocacy for the Latino community and other residents of the Beacon Hill area as of 2025.

Caption information source: http://depts.washington.edu/civilr/gossett.htm
Caption information source: "Seattle Public Schools, 1862-2000: Beacon Hill Elementary School," by Carolyn J. Marr and Nile Thompson, HistoryLink.org Essay 10459.