In the politics of

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, "Gang of Four" (also, sometimes "The Four Amigos") refers to

Bernie Whitebear Bernie Whitebear (September 27, 1937 – July 16, 2000), birth name Bernard Reyes, was an American Indian activist in Seattle, Washington, a co-founder of the Seattle Indian Health Board (SIHB), the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation, and ...

, Bob Santos, Roberto Maestas, and

Larry Gossett Lawrence Edward Gossett (born February 21, 1945) is an American politician and activist who served as a member of the nonpartisan King County Council, representing District 10 from 1994 to 2006 and District 2 from 2006 to 2020.

, who founded Seattle's

Minority Executive Directors's Coalition Minority may refer to: Politics * Minority government, formed when a political party does not have a majority of overall seats in parliament * Minority leader, in American politics, the floor leader of the second largest caucus in a legislative b ...

. All four were associated with radical minority rights activism in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and all went on to leadership roles. Whitebear founded the

Seattle Indian Health Board Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of N ...

and the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation. Santos was a prominent leader among Seattle's

Asian Americans Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous people ...

, director of the Asian Coalition, and executive director of the Inter*Im in the International District; Maestas was the founder and director of

El Centro de la Raza El Centro de la Raza in Seattle, Washington, United States, is an educational, cultural, and social service agency, centered in the Latino/Chicano community and headquartered in the former Beacon Hill Elementary School on Seattle's Beacon Hill. It ...

. While studying at the University of Washington, Gossett founded a

Black Student Union In higher education in the United States, a Black Student Union (BSU) is an organization of Black students, generally with a focus on protest. Historically functioning as a Black counterpart to the largely white organization Students for a Democrat ...

. He later created Central Area Motivation Program and went on to public office as a member of the King County Council.Reyes 2002, p. 188–189.

Notes

American community activists Minority rights activists Activists from Seattle {{Washington-stub