Louis Gossett Jr., was an incredible phenomenon at the young age of 17. His intrinsic nature as an actor won him sensational accolades as he continuously captured the attention of large audiences when he replaced Bill Gunn as Spencer Scott on Broadway’s “Take A Giant Step,” while simultaneously attended school at Lincoln High. His all-time career began with a vision from Lew Wassermann, who not only had the insight to cast Gossett in his first play, but selectively cherry picked him when he had no formal training as an actor. With a career that spans over five decades, Louis Gosset, Jr., is best known for his role as ‘Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley’ in the film, “An Officer and a Gentlemen (1982),” which won him an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor. He is also remembered for his role as ‘Fiddler,’ in “Roots (1977),” the ABC-TV miniseries (based on Alex Haley’s novel, 1976), which won him an Emmy Award. Louis Gossett, Jr., was the first African American male to win an Oscar in a supporting role; the second black male to win for acting; the third African American actor to win overall. With all the awards Louis Gossett Jr. has garnered throughout his career, he has also dedicated a part of his life to an extremely important mission of ‘saving the planet’ by establishing a foundation called, “Eracism”. Sitting in his home in Malibu, Mr. Gossett’s humility shines through as he expresses himself about his attitude towards society and how to make things better. “I was born in Brooklyn, where we had neighborhood rules. During that time we had dignity and discipline when a neighbor saw one of the kids doing something wrong. They were disciplined out of tough love and that has changed in the last few years,” states Gossett. During Gossett's career, one particular individual who inspired him to focus on eradicating racism was the late, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. Mandela had no bitter feelings after he was released from prison. Instead of harboring hatred or cynicism, he focused on a much larger vision by bringing people of all cultures together, fostering racial reconciliation, thus, playing an important role in Mr. Gossett’s dream and mission. As a direct result, Louis Gossett, Jr., followed the path before him and created the ‘Eracism’ Foundation to eradicate the systematic impacts of all forms of racism. The ‘Eracism’ Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit organization which has been in existence for 10 years. Its focus is to teach children at a young age to be sensitive and to cooperate with one another. Gossett states, “each person knows who they are, but they must know who the other person is and cultivate the relationship.” The role of the ‘Eracism’ organization is to educate, nurture and teach children about the salvation of our precious planet, while focusing on dress code, physical fitness, conflict resolution, respect for self, for elders, the opposite sex and spirituality. Programs will primarily focus on nurturing cultural diversity, historical enrichment, education, and anti-violence initiatives. These programs will also focus on different age groups, not targeting or zoning in on youth only. By providing international leadership, mentorship, technological online curriculums and continuous training, the “Eracism” Foundation will offer many solutions, critical data and analysis surrounding sensitive, but inevitable all important race related topics. As to the outcome of where society is heading Gossett states, “we may as well be on a 747 jet that’s about to crash and people will be fighting on whose going to be in first class.” That statement holds true to the worldly problems which exist today. According to Mr. Gossett, it’s time to be aware of these problems and make a change. Louis Gossett Jr. is currently starring as Daddy Moses in the “Book of Negroes,” is a 6 hour miniseries on BBC, CBC Canada and BET-Viacom. His book, “An Actor and A Gentlemen” is available through his website. For more information on the Eracism Foundation, please visit: www.EracismFoundation.org Email all inquiries to: info@eracism.foundation Telephone 310.276.6700