Obituary

MICHAEL ROSS, CIVIL-RIGHTS LEADER NEVER AFRAID TO BUCK THE TIDE, DIES AT 66

Michael K. Ross was not afraid to challenge the conventional wisdom.
That's how he landed in Seattle in the first place.

After serving a two-year stint in the Air Force and leaving a Kansas
college to become a civil-rights field worker in the Deep South, he
fell in love with another young volunteer. But Virginia miscegenation
laws kept them from marrying. He was black; she was white.

They picked Seattle at random.

"They got in a car with nothing, got married in D.C., and drove across
country to Seattle," said his first-born son, Michael Kay Ross, who
makes his home in the Washington, D.C., area. "They really knew nobody
out here."

That was in the mid-1960s. They found Seattle had its share of racist
attitudes, too. The marriage lasted two years.

But Mr. Ross stayed. And his passion for civil-rights work continued.
He was former executive director of the United Inner City Development
Foundation, and he served one term, from 1971-73, representing the
37th District in the state Legislature.

Even then, he was bucking the tide: He was a Republican elected to
represent a heavily Democratic district.

Mr. Ross, one of the leaders of the struggle in the 1970s to get more
jobs for African Americans in the building-trades industry, suffered a
heart attack and died in Seattle on Tuesday. He was 66.

Born in Iowa City, Iowa, Mr. Ross was raised in the
Midwest.

Not since Mr. Ross' term has the 37th District been represented in
Olympia by a Republican. "He was such a skillful debater, he had
people feeling sorry for his opponent," said longtime associate Eddie
Rye Jr. While still a legislator, he was arrested during a
demonstration at a construction site.

"A lot of people in the black community criticized him for being an
elected official going to jail for economic and social-justice
issues," recalled Rye.

"Mike had a unique ability to bridge his wing of the Republican Party
to a lot of folks in the community who wouldn't have normally looked
that way."

His term in the Legislature was not without notoriety.

Mr. Ross sponsored what was believed to be the first bill to legalize
possession and sale of marijuana in the nation. His idea was to have
the State Liquor Control Board administer its growth, sale and
transport. He proposed money from sales be shared by University of
Washington drug researchers, public schools and the state.

The bill never passed.

Mr. Ross also raised eyebrows in Olympia when it came to seeking
support for other causes. He was an unconventional novice, some said.
He once told a newspaper reporter: "I made a lot of enemies there."

In addition to his oldest son, he is survived by sons Adam Ross, of
Seattle, and Michael Chavez Ross of Auburn; sisters Tonya Scott, of
Seattle, and Jacklyn Ross, of Los Angeles; and brothers Elisha Roy
Scott, of Seattle, Henry Ross, of Los Angeles, and Curtis Ross, of
Santa Rosa, Calif.

A funeral is set for 2 p.m. Monday at Seattle's Mount Zion Baptist
Church, 1634 19th Ave. A wake is planned for 2-6 p.m. today at
Dayspring & Fitch Funeral Home, 5503 Rainier Ave. S.

Remembrances may be sent to the Mount Zion Baptist Church Scholarship
Fund in honor of Michael K. Ross.