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 Seattle’s Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and in 1968 he co-founded the University of Washington Black Student Union (UW BSU). Gossett developed a close relationship with other activists for racial justice, in particular Bernie Whitebear (1937-2000), Robert "Bob" Santos (1934-2016), and Roberto Felipe "Bob" Maestas (1938-2010). Collectively they were known as the "Gang of Four," and in 1982 they founded the Minority Executive Directors Coalition (MEDC). In 1993, Gossett was elected to the King County Council, and as of 2018, he continues to represent King County District 2.
In this image, Larry Gossett speaks to about 200 demonstrators at Seattle City Hall who occupied the City Council chambers to protest recent fatal shootings of African Americans by police in the Central District neighborhood.
Caption information source: http://depts.washington.edu/civilr/gossett.htm Caption information source: The Seattle Times, April 21, 1971, p. A15 Caption information also derived from captions written by Post-Intelligencer staff and attached to the back of the photograph.
Physical Description: 1 photographic print : b&w ; 6.5 x 9.25 in.
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant. Metadata updated as part of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Library Services and Technology Act, through the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
Credit: MOHAI, Seattle Post-Intelligencer Collection, 2000.107.077.01.07, photo by Paul V. Thomas
