We, the undersigned, residents, community members, advocates, organizations, supporters, respectfully urge Long Beach city leaders to formally designate Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Park as an African-American Heritage Park.

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park has long served as a cultural, historical, and community centered gathering place within the African- American community and the surrounding neighborhoods. The park represents not only recreation and public space, but also the enduring legacy of civil rights, community empowerment, education, culture, resilience, and unity. Every year the community gathers to commemorate Dr. King’s legacy, celebrate Juneteenth, and uplift the values of equity and justice. Now it’s time for the City of Long Beach to make it official.

Designating the park as an African-American Heritage Park will:

- Transform the park into a recognized cultural destination honoring Dr. King’s life, teachings, legacy, and the broader Civil Rights Movement.

- Preserve and elevate the cultural significance of the park for future generations.

- Support educational, cultural, historical, and community-based programming centered on African American heritage and civil rights history.

- Create opportunities for partnership, investment, beautification

- Strengthen community identity, pride, and historical recognition within the Historically Black Cultural District and throughout the city.

- Stabilize and expand community-led events like annual MLK commemorations and Juneteenth celebrations.

- Create an intergenerational gathering place where history is taught, experienced, and celebrated by all.

- Preserve and celebrate Civil Rights History and the broader Civil Rights Movement in a manner that is visible, tangible, and lasting.

- Bring educational signage, public art installations, historical interpretations, and meaningful programming to the space.

- Provide a framework for long-term planning and institutional support for cultural programming.

- Unlock philanthropic, regional, state, and federal funding for historic preservation and community development.

- Strengthen Long Beach’s commitment to cultural equity and its identity as a diverse, inclusive city.

African-American history deserves more than acknowledgment. It deserves a dedicated place where it can be taught, experienced, and celebrated by everyone. The Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Heritage Park can be that place.