Academy Award-winning actor Louis Gossett Jr. (left) joined Colette Phillips, president and CEO of Colette Phillips Communications (center) and Boston City Council President Maureen Feeney. Photo Courtesy Don West

From the Malibu Times:

Academy award winning actor Louis Gossett Jr. is seen here with Boston City Council President Maureen Feeney (far right) and his publicist Colette Phillips, president and CEO of Colette Phillips Communications Inc. Gossett, a Malibu resident, was the guest of honor at Get Konnected, a monthly multicultural professional and social networking event founded by Phillips.

From Bay State Banner:

With an acting career spanning over five decades in film, television and theater, Gossett is perhaps best known for his roles as Fiddler in the groundbreaking television miniseries “Roots” and as Gunnery Sgt. Emil Foley in the 1982 film “An Officer and a Gentleman.” The former earned him an Emmy; the latter, an Oscar.

In 2006, Gossett decided to focus his energies on fighting social ills when he founded The Eracism Foundation, a nonprofit organization designed to create a “conscious offensive against racism, violence and ignorance.” Toward that end, the foundation has created programs focused on youth mentoring, anti-gang violence initiatives and diversity sensitivity training sessions known as “Shamba Centers.”

While the Eracism organization’s work is part of the solution, Gossett said, there is much more work to be done — and he thinks the classroom is a good place to start.