Seattle’s Gang of Four – An Interracial Coalition
The ‘Gang of Four’ or ‘Four Amigos’ is a group of four Seattle activists from Indigenous, Black, Asian, and Latinx communities. They organized and advocated for the needs of people of color from the late 60s and 70’s onward.
Councilmember Larry Gossett is the last surviving member of the Gang of Four. Councilmember Gossett is a former Seattle Chapter Black Panther Party member, Co-founder of the University of Washington, Seattle Black Student Union, the former Executive Director of the Central Area Motivation Program (CAMP), and Co-Founder of the Third World Coalition He also founded the Minority Executive Directors Coalition (MEDC) alongside the Gang of Four. He celebrated his 79th birthday this month. In this interview with Councilmember Gossett from December, 2021, he reflects on the powerful and lasting work of the interracial coalition.
Producer: Yuko Kodama
Photo: Gang of Four Book Cover “Gang of Four,” by Bob Santos and Gary Iwamoto
Restorative Practices
Excerpt of an interview with Michelle Strange on working through a restorative case, accountability, and …how Audre Lorde’s words of wisdom fit into restorative practice
What do you do when you feel harmed by power dynamics at work, school or even at home? Michelle Strange is the Director of Bellevue College Restorative Practices, a program that proactively builds community and responds to incidents of harm on campus. Restorative Practices has trained twenty, on-site restorative facilitators to date, and is working to bring in twenty more people trained in responsive facilitation. (to manage circles in response to harm) KBCS interviewed Strange about how restorative practices are implemented at Bellevue College and offers tips on how to respond when harm was caused and experienced.
Restorative Practices Resources:
Restorative Responses to Harms You’ve Caused
Producer: Yuko Kodama
Photo: Bellevue College
Message from the GM – February 2024
Dear KBCS Community,
I hope this month’s newsletter finds you well and tuned into the enriching programming on KBCS that we bring to your ears every day. As a noncommercial educational radio station, we rely on the support of listeners like you to keep this eclectic mix of local music, news, and educational programming alive and thriving over the air and online.
KBCS is committed to providing high quality educational content and local news programming with a social justice focus that you won’t find anywhere else. Our Community Radio format provides the opportunity for everyday people, from all backgrounds and all walks of life, who live here in the greater Seattle metro, the opportunity to produce and host their own music programs to share with their friends and neighbors across the Puget Sound and online everywhere. Now that’s true democracy in action where everyday people and not just professional broadcasters have access to the local airwaves.
We amplify local voices in our community, sharing their stories that are impactful in our community. Whether it is highlighting the talent of our local musicians or covering difficult subjects and stories about the underserved segments of our community that other news outlets don’t, KBCS is your voice on the airwaves.
Unlike commercial stations, we don’t bombard you with commercial advertisements. Your support ensures that KBCS remains ad-free, allowing us to focus solely on delivering meaningful content without interference or fear of offending an advertiser or large corporate entity.
If you haven’t already signed up to be a monthly donor to KBCS, consider becoming a sustainer to KBCS. Your consistent monthly support helps us plan and fund the amazing variety of programming on KBCS and the personal favorite shows you love to listen to. You can also make a one-time donation and every donation counts. Whether it’s $5 or $50 your support keeps the lights burning bright at KBCS. You can also support KBCS by spreading the word. Tell your friends, family, and colleagues about KBCS and encourage them to listen and contribute.
Join us for our annual Spring Fundraising Campaign beginning Friday, March 15th and running through Monday, March 25th. Tune in for special programming and exciting giveaways and drawings for special prizes.
Thank you for being part of the KBCS family. Together we can continue to grow this station and to educate, inspire, and connect our community through our community radio station that has been a Seattle tradition since 1973.
Dana Lee Buckingham
General Manager and Proud Sustaining Contributor to Community Radio KBCS.
Unmute the Commute: My Family and My Bus
Street Conversation with Joel Rogers
KBCS’s Gol Holghooghi was in Rainier Beach and recorded this conversation with Joel Rogers who was picking up trash in the neighborhood.
Producer: Gol Holghooghi and Yuko Kodama
Photos: Gol Holghooghi
Mamie Clark
KBCS Producer Kevin Henry brings you a short reflection on the work of American Psychological Researcher, Mamie Phipps Clark.
Producer: Kevin Henry
Photo: CUNY Academic Commons
All You Need is a Good Heart
What does it take to effectively demonstrate for human rights? Community organizer and writer, Magdaleno ‘Leno’ Rose-Avila reflects on his first protest in high school. (more…)
A Day of Remembrance – A Week of Action
Each February, Japanese American communities nationwide observe the Day of Remembrance, the anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066 which led to the mass incarceration of over 120,000 Japanese Americans across the west coast during World War II.
Some survivors of this incarceration and their descendants fight mass incarceration today, because of their community’s experiences during that time. You’ll hear from Tsuru for Solidarity, an organization of Japanese American activists, and La Resistencia, a group advocating for immigrants detained today. Interviews are with Stan Shikuma, Co-chair of Tsuru for Solidarity’s children and family detention campaign and Maru Mora Villalpando, Founder of La Resistencia.
Producer: Yuko Kodama
Friday, February 16
9am
Press Conference
Federal Building 915 2nd Ave Seattle
Virtual Rally
Zoom bit.ly/3HWgwN4
Instagram Live @tsuruforsolidarity
Sunday, February 18
Program
1pm Washington State Fairgrounds’ Agriplex 5th St SW Puyallap
2:30pm Northwest Detention Center 1623 E J St Tacoma
Tuesday, February 20
10am
Press Conference
King County Airport Main Terminal 7277 Perimeter Rd S Seattle
Press Conference – Police Response to Feb 9 rally for Palestine
A press conference was held Monday morning by people who spoke out against police use of force during an event supporting end of US aid to Israel on February 9th. Students for a Democratic Society and the Seattle Alliance against Racist and Political Repression chapters held a rally in front of the Seattle World Trade Center. The event was part of the US Palestinian Community Network‘s week of action. At Monday’s press conference, participants in the Feb 9th rally spoke out about the use of force and arrests by the Seattle Police Department. Listen to excerpts of the press conference recording, and the Seattle Police Department’s statement about this event.
Producer – Yuko Kodama (Special thanks to Bob Barnes for help with this story)
Photo: flyer of Feb 9th event
Video: Special thanks to SamidounSeattle for the press conference footage
Nina Harding – Local Black Feminist Activist
Washington State legalized abortion in 1970, three years before Roe V. Wade. Among the key people to advocate for this and many other issues around equity for women and communities of color was Nina Harding, a Black attorney from Seattle. Nina Harding passed away in 2010, but KBCS’s Yuko Kodama caught up with her daughter, Stephanie Harding who now lives in Washington D.C.
Producer: Yuko Kodama
Photo: