Recommendation to name the park site located at the Pacific Electric Right-of-Way between Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue and Lemon Avenue "National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Freedom Park."
Motion carries eight zero. Item 11 Council Communication from Councilman Andrews. Councilwoman Price. Council Member O'Donnell. Recommendation to refer to the Housing and Neighborhoods Committee and the Parks and Recreation Commission to consider naming the park located at 2300 Martin Luther King Jr Avenue and ACP Freedom Park. Thank you so much for this. Over to Councilmember Andrews. Yes, thank you, Mayor. First of all, I'd like to thank my colleagues for signing on with me with this item. And it's definitely a pleasure for me to be able to, you know, read this item because the fact that it plays a very important part, I think, in everyone's life. You know, it was founded in 1909 in the NAACP. It's the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization for over 100 years. This organization has vowed to bring civil rights and justice to the new level of acceptance for all our national people. Local and Long Beach branch of the NAACP was started in 1940 by the late honorable Mr. Ernest McBride Jr. The policies and procedures brought forward by this local branch causes changes in language, education, economics, development, housing and the labor industry. I want to thank the thousands upon thousands of members that served to bring about the change that we see in our world today, not only for blacks, but for all colors that have been integrated into the movement towards freedom, equality and justice, which this is the part that will stand for Long Beach as well as for the United States. And the first park named in honor of the NAACP. And at this time, I would like to show a small film sent to us by the national president of the NAACP. Thank you. Would you please take the time to look at this? I am the largest. The oldest. I am the baddest. The boldest. I am protecting our voting rights and our environment. I am ending racial profiling. And fighting HIV aids. I am advancing economic equality. And for all. I am. I am. I am. I am. NAACP. Are you. Take a stand. I am. NAACP. Dawg. Thank you. I like to move to approve the asylum. Okay. There's been a motion and a second. Let me first begin by taking public comment on the item. With any public comment, please come forward. Good evening. Honorable Mayor Robert Garcia, City Council. Thank you for this opportunity. I'm here on behalf of Naomi Rainey, president of the Long Beach Branch NAACP. My name is Jesse Johnson. I'm on the executive. Board and a lifetime member of the NAACP. We thank you for this consideration. Some of my speech has been given already with the history of the NAACP by our councilman at the Andrew's. We especially want to thank our Councilman de Andrew's council member, Susie Price and Councilmember Patrick O'Donnell for putting this item on the city council and especially to our honorable mayor Robert Garcia and the full city council. The state in. ACP President. Alice Huffman, as well as our new. President and CEO at the national level, Cornell William Brooks. Send their congratulations for this consideration that the city is giving and naming this part of the NAACP, Freedom Park. It was mentioned about the history so I can I'll pass over that. And last but not least. Oh, yeah. I'd like to mention also that. We had several. People in the audience that were here earlier, including the president on Naomi Rainey. But she had another. Engagement, and that's why she's not here. But we still have. A have some community. Leaders as well as pre the previous members and board members were you raise your hand. And everyone know Evelyn Knight. Of course. She's. She's also a lifetime. Member and and a civil rights leader nationally. She walked with Dr. King and many other things. And she was instrumental in a lot of the civil rights that happened here in the city of Long Beach. When I thank you for holding out with this presentation. And last but not least, Sylvia. Several of you have already committed. To attend our annual. Fundraiser. And this is how we are able to. Ensure the programs. And the civil rights that we do in the city continues on. It's happening is our 35th of Founder's. Celebration Dinner and awards presentation. It's this coming Friday. At the Hilton, the president's reception. And you all are welcome to attend as at 530 in the dinner and the program starts at 630 and then it's at the Hilton. And thank you so very much for this consideration. Thank you. And the other public comment came to get back to the council, Councilmember Ranga. I want to commend Councilmember De Andrews for bringing this forward, having been a long time community activist, myself in Long Beach before being an elected official, I have worked very closely with our Long Beach branch of the NAACP for civil civil disobedience issues, as well as some issues are very important to minority communities. And the NAACP has been one of those organizations that has extended its arms to embrace all the other cultures in this community as well. So I want to commend the NAACP for their efforts also in terms of being inclusive in their civil rights issues. It's not about one, it's about all. And we are one Long Beach. So thank you. Thank you. I think we have another public public speaker. So let me let me take the next speaker, then we'll go back to the council, please. My name is Evelyn Knight, and I would just like to say that I most appreciate the kind of consideration, because not only has the NAACP and many other organizations, civil rights organization, had a tremendous job in making things better for all people. But also, I would like to remind to remind us that that struggle continues because we still have a lot of rights and responsibilities that's on everybody's plate to make things better for all people in the United States of America. Thank you. Thank you. And thank you for all that you've done. Councilwoman Pryce. Thank you. I want to thank Councilmember Andrews and his staff for giving me the honor to cosign on this particular item. One of the objectives of the ACP is to ensure the political, educational, social and economic equality for all citizens. And I think it's appropriate that here in the city of Long Beach, that is to our mission and that we have a park. And with that mission in mind and with that namesake. So thank you for being here. And thank you, Councilmember Councilman Austin. Thank you. And I also want to express my my gratitude for to my colleagues for bringing this forward. I want to congratulate the NAACP, the Long Beach chapter, Naomi Rainey, State President Alice Huffman, and the many members of the NAACP locally who who labor away for the mission. And Evelyn Knight, you said it best. The struggle does continue. The struggle continues in education. It continues in the political realm, but it also continues in the labor and industry area. We have one in high unemployment rates where we're looking to bring up wages of workers. I hope we can we can continue to work together and be partners on those issues as well and be cognizant of the importance of standing for those issues. I'm thrilled to 2 to 2 to support this item. And and I would encourage everyone else to as well. Thank you. Thank you. Councilmember Richardson. Thank you, Councilmember Andrews, for bringing this forward. And we a number of us stand on the shoulders of many of the folks who've come before us. But I think Councilmember Alston articulated it best. We are in the midst of a major discussion in our country around equality and and wages and fairness. So I would hope that moving forward, we can, you know, count on the NAACP as a partner here in Long Beach as we take on some of these some of these campaigns and challenges. Thank you. And with that, I believe there is a motion on the floor. Yes, it is. Okay. So we have a motion on the floor. I want to thank everyone, everyone for coming out. And if we can take a roll call on a roll call a vote, Madam Clerk. Councilwoman Gonzales. Writes. Vice mayor. Here. Now you want to voice, vote and. Oh. What are we doing now? It's just a regular vote. Oh, Castro does. One. Voice. And then I said, I'm sorry about the regular vote. Yes. Motion carries eight zero. Thank you. Sorry for the confusion. Moving on to congratulations. Very good. Moving on. Item 12 has been withdrawn. Moving on to item number 13. Madam Clerk.