Robert Nicholas "Bob" Santos (1934-2016), was a Filipino American born and raised in Seattle's Chinatown - International District. He spent most of his life as an activist in his old neighborhood -- saving it, nurturing it, defending it against outside threats, whether environmental, cultural, or political. Mr. Santos developed a close relationship with other activists for racial justice, in particular Bernie Whitebear (1937-2000), Edward Lawrence "Larry" Gossett (b. 1945), 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).
From 1972 to 1989, Mr. Santos served as Executive Director of the International District Improvement Association (Inter*Im, now InterIm CDA). From 1989 to 1993, Mr. Santos oversaw the Seattle Chinatown/ International District Preservation Authority, and in 1994, U. S. President Bill Clinton (b. 1946) appointed him the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) secretary's representative for the Northwest-Alaska area, Region X, a position he served in until 2001.
In this image, Bob Santos speaks as a member of the Committee for Justice for Domingo and Viernes (CJDV). Silme Domingo (b. 1952) and Gene Viernes (b. 1951) were Filipino-American activists and union reform leaders who were murdered in Seattle on June 1, 1981, at the offices of Local 37 of the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union (ILWU). Two gunmen were immediately captured, and the murders were originally thought to be an isolated act of violence. However, investigations spurred on by the CJDV showed that the murders were political assassinations with far-reaching connections. Constantine “Tony” Baruso (1928-2008), a former ILWU Local 37 president, was later convicted of organizing the killings at the order of corrupt Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos (1917-1989) in retaliation for the victims’ anti-Marcos organizing through the Seattle chapter of Union of Democratic Filipinos (KDP). Even as recently as 2018, individuals involved in the investigation have unanswered questions about what knowledge the FBI, which at the time was conducting a counterintelligence operation against the KDP, had prior to the assassinations.
Caption information source: "Bob Santos (1934-2016), International District activist; Catholic Interracial Council; Inter*Im; Author," retrieved from https://depts.washington.edu/civilr/santos.htm Caption information source: https://depts.washington.edu/civilr/cindy_domingo.htm Caption information source: "A call for answers," The Seattle Times, March 15, 2018, p. B1. Caption information also derived from captions written by Post-Intelligencer staff and attached to the back of the photograph.
