268:. Smith had earlier left the legislature to run for Seattle City Council. Ross won a surprise victory in the heavily Democratic-leaning 37th district over Marion King Smith; Sam Smith would later attribute Ross' victory over his wife to a defection of Smith's traditional allies among the district's black leaders who were "afraid that the power in the black community was too centered on me. They knew I would be helping her make decisions, and they didn't want me to have that kind of reach."
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240:"that have been homogenized by the university and who now serve as spokesmen and leaders for the black community because whites feel at ease with them." Later, Ross would join in demonstrations demanding the University of Washington terminate athletic contacts with
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After leaving politics, Ross founded two different construction companies, which experienced varying degrees of success. He later served as executive-director of the United Inner City
Development Foundation, worked for the
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be carried by a female legislative page when posting the colors before the
Washington legislature (previous state custom required the federal colors be carried by a male and the state colors by a female).
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for an open seat in the
Washington House of Representatives from the 37th Legislative District, facing Democrat Marion King Smith, the wife of former longtime state legislator
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Ross sought a second term in the legislature, but was defeated by
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163:(July 14, 1941 – August 21, 2007) was an American civil rights activist, construction worker, and member of the
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out of a desire to escape the discrimination he had suffered elsewhere as a result of his brief marriage to a
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during a period of racial tensions. On another occasion he was arrested for helping to topple a
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photos of sit-ins and rallies in
Seattle in the 1960s and 1970s, several featuring Michael Ross
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in protest of the lack of racial diversity among contractors working on the construction of
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391:"Michael Ross, civil-rights leader never afraid to buck the tide, dies at 66"
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Michael Ross meets with
Washington's then governor Dan Evans in 1971.
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Republican Party members of the
Washington House of Representatives
513:. Olympia, Washington: Washington Secretary of State. p. 114.
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and, toward the end of his life, served as a minority liaison for
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In
Seattle, Ross became involved with the local chapter of the
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to Carl Ross and Violet
Phinisse Scott, and was raised in
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African-American state legislators in
Washington (state)
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After he took office, Ross was appointed by Governor
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484:"The Black Panther Party in Seattle, 1968-1970"
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614:21st-century African-American politicians
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511:Sam Smith: an Oral History
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171:to have been elected from
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260:In 1970 Ross ran as a
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528:. 17 September 1985.
488:depts.washington.edu
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458:"Ross, Michael K."
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463:. BlackPast
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558:Categories
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327:Later life
313:Dino Rossi
262:Republican
179:Early life
169:Republican
149:Politician
141:Occupation
119:Republican
545:from the
293:bulldozer
277:marijuana
266:Sam Smith
217:Caucasian
133:Parent(s)
63:1971–1973
59:In office
347:See also
321:Ron Sims
205:Virginia
145:Activist
125:Children
219:woman.
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
