Larry Gossett

Early life and education

Gossett was born in Seattle to two sharecroppers who had emigrated from Nigton, Texas, to the Central District. He graduated Franklin High School in 1963 and later graduated from the University of Washington. In 1966 and 1967, he was a VISTA volunteer in Harlem. He initially joined VISTA for the draft deferment; his time in Harlem politicized and radicalized him.

Career

Returning to Seattle, he became a founder of the Black Student Union on the UW campus and helped to organize nearly a dozen high school and middle school Black Student Unions throughout Seattle. As a student activist, he was instrumental in bringing about the UW's Educational Opportunity Program minority recruitment program. He also played a role in the discrimination of black track athletes from Oregon State University, resulting in their early departure from a track meet. He graduated from the UW in 1970, receiving the university's first-ever degree in African American studies. Before he had even formally received his BA, he became the first supervisor of the Black Student Division in the university's Office of Minority Affairs. The Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project describes him as having been, in the late 1960s, "one of Seattle’s best known young black radicals."

A former member of Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, he worked as a community organizer in Seattle. While still working for the University of Washington, he was involved in the occupation of a former Seattle public school that ultimately became El Centro de la Raza. His continued involvement in civil disobedience led to a request to "cool it", from the head of the Office of Minority Affairs, Samuel E. Kelly. Eventually, he left his position at the university. After working on the successful 1977 mayoral campaign of Charles Royer, he served briefly in the Royer administration, but felt that was taking him too far from his work as an activist. From April 1979 to December 1993, he was the executive director of Seattle's Central Area Motivation Program ("CAMP"). He eventually worked on Jesse Jackson's presidential campaigns.

Black Panthers

Several sources state that Gossett was a member of the Black Panthers. By Gossett's own account, he attended the founding meeting of Seattle's Panther chapter, and also attended Panther leader Bobby Hutton's 1968 funeral; he worked on several political actions with Panther Party members and has said positive things about their legacy. Gossett has admitted in recent years that he was a long time member of the Seattle chapter of the Black Panther Party.

King County Council

Gossett was elected to the Council in 1993. Gossett ran unopposed in 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015.

Gossett's office in the King County Courthouse is in the same location that his prison cell was in 1968 when he was arrested for unlawful assembly during a sit-in at Franklin High School on March 29.

He was defeated by Girmay Zahilay in the 2019 election after serving six terms.

Personal life

Gossett is Catholic, married, and has three children.

Notes

References

1. "Gossett, Larry (B. 1945)".
2. [http://www.kingcounty.gov/Gossett/Biography.aspx King County Councilmember Larry Gossett] biography, County Council Website. Accessed online 27 April 2008.
3. "Larry Gossett Elected Chair of King County Council for 2007".
4. Tu, Janet I.. (February 11, 2006). ""Gang" keeps on fighting".
5. Brownstone, Sydney. (November 7, 2019). "From sharecropper's son to Black Panther to politician, County Councilmember Larry Gossett reflects on his legacy". The Seattle Times.
6. [http://depts.washington.edu/civilr/gossett.htm Larry Gossett], Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project, University of Washington. Accessed online 27 April 2008
7. Doug Merlino, [http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=7393 Gossett, Larry (b. 1945)], HistoryLink, July 23, 2005. Accessed online 27 April 2008.
8. "Charges Fly After Meet". St. Petersburg Times.
9. Brownstone, Sydney. (November 6, 2019). "From sharecropper's son to Black Panther to politician, County Councilmember Larry Gossett reflects on his legacy". [[Seattle Times]].
10. (1) [http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/biography.asp?bioindex=1763&category=PoliticalMakers Larry Gossett Biography], The HistoryMakers. Accessed online 27 April 2008.
      (2)Piper Scott, responding to Geov Parrish, [http://www.horsesass.org/?p=3639 Thursday morning roundup: Embers edition], HorsesAss.org, 25 October 2007. Accessed online 27 April 2008.
11. Phil Campbell, [http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=3094 In Other News... Thanks for Clearing That Up], ''The Stranger'' (Seattle), February 2, 2000. Accessed online 27 April 2008.
12. Kurt Schaefer, [http://depts.washington.edu/civilr/Panthers1_schaefer.htm The Black Panther Party in Seattle, 1968-1970], Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project, University of Washington. Accessed online 27 April 2008
13. [https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/seattle-attorney-to-challenge-larry-gossett-for-seat-on-king-county-council/ Seattle Attorney to Challenge Larry Gossett for Seat on King County Council], ''Seattle Times'', 3/4/2019
14. [https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2019/06/07/40411126/larry-gossett-faces-his-first-serious-challenger-in-girmay-zahilay Larry Gossett Faces His First Serious Challenger in Girmay Zahilay], ''The Stranger'', 6/7/2019
15. Alan J. Stein, [http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=1378 College and high school students sit-in at Seattle's Franklin High on March 29, 1968], HistoryLink, June 14, 1999. Accessed online 27 April 2008.
16. "Gossett, Larry (b. 1945)".