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-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, which still provides services and advocacy for the Latino community and other residents of the Beacon Hill area as of 2020. 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.

Along with Bernie Whitebear, Bob Santos, and Larry Gossett, Maestas was also one of Seattle's "Gang of Four" (also known as "The Four Amigos"), who founded Seattle's Minority Executive Directors Coalition (MEDC) in 1982. All four were associated with radical minority rights activism in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and all went on to leadership roles.

This photo shows Roberto Maestas speaking at a Seattle City Council hearing in November 1972 in support of establishing a Chicano center at the old Beacon Hill School.

Caption information source: "Maestas, Roberto Felipe (1938-2010)" by Frank Chesney, HistoryLink.org Essay 9186
Caption information also derived from captions written by Post-Intelligencer staff and attached to the back of the photograph.