Roberto Maestas (July 9, 1938 – September 22, 2010) was an American

social activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make Social change, changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from ...

who was prominent between the 1960s and the 1990s in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. Maestas was a member of the

Gang of Four The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes due to th ...

and one of the founders of El Centro de la Raza.Prominent civil rights leader Roberto Maestas dies
KOMO news, September 22, 2010. Retrieved February 23, 2018.Jerry Large
Roberto Maestas, leading advocate for social justice, dies at 72
''Seattle Times'', September 22, 2010. Retrieved February 23, 2018.

Biography

Maestas was born in rural New Mexico and raised by his grandparents and after working throughout the Western United States as a

migrant worker A migrant worker is a person who Human migration, migrates within a home country or outside it to pursue work. Migrant workers usually do not have an intention to stay permanently in the country or region in which they work. Migrant workers ...

eventually settled in Seattle in the 1950s. Maestas was a high school teacher at Franklin High School and then enrolled in a graduate degree program at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

in 1968. In the early 1970s he helped begin an ESL program at South Seattle College. In 1972, funding to the program was abruptly cut off which led to Maestas and a number of other activists to occupy an abandoned school building in Seattle's Beacon Hill neighborhood which eventually became El Centro de la Raza.

Legacy

On April 25, 2011, the

Seattle City Council The Seattle City Council is the legislative body of the city of Seattle, Washington. The Council consists of nine members serving four-year terms, seven of which are elected by electoral districts and two of which are elected in citywide at-larg ...

voted unanimously to rename the segment of South Lander Street between 16th Avenue South and 17th Avenue South (immediately south of El Centro de la Raza) as South Roberto Maestas Festival Street.

References

1938 births Activists for Hispanic and Latino American civil rights American civil rights activists Activists from Seattle 2010 deaths Deaths from lung cancer in Washington (state) {{US-activist-stub