Roberto Maestas
- 72 years old
- Male
- Born Jul 09, 1938
- Died Sep 22, 2010
- Seattle, Washington, United States
About
Life of Roberto Maestas
Born in Lourdes, New Mexico, he came to Washington State as a migrant Farm Worker. A form high school drop-out for economic reasons, he later became one of the first Chicano students to graduate from the University of Washington.
Founder of El Centro de la Raza, Roberto Maestas was the Executive Director for 37 years. Since its founding, El Centro de la Raza has provided vital social and emergency services to over one half million low-income persons of diverse ethnic backgrounds and has maintained cultural and educational exchanges with many countries in Latin America.
Roberto did extensive writing, lecturing and led community actions in the struggle for social, environmental and economic justice. He was proudly arrested 13 times for just causes.
Justice For All
Roshea Romero Jul 06, 2012
MY GOOD BUDDY
ANNABELLE GROVER Apr 16, 2012
Gratefulness
Virginia Anderson Oct 09, 2010
Remembering Roberto
Jordan Van Voast Oct 06, 2010
On one of our last conversations, he shared with me how he remembered being a teacher at Franklin High School the day after Dr. King was killed. The heaviness in the classroom was palpable that morning and one boy finally broke the silence, voicing the grief that everyone felt. "Mr. Maestas, why?" Roberto said there was a long silence after the boy spoke, and that was one of the most difficult moments of his life, finding the words to answer his question.
"What did you say?", I asked him. "I just did my best", Roberto said, "people always need hope for a better world." May we all follow in Roberto's compassionate footsteps.