Wave Staff and Wire Report
LOS ANGELES — A day prior to a grand celebration honoring the late Gloria Molina in Boyle Heights, the City Council proclaimed Aug. 29 as “Gloria Molina Day” as a kick off to the events.
Council members Kevin de León and Monica Rodriguez led the presentation, featuring several Molina family members. The council members had introduced a resolution on Aug. 8 intended to mark Gloria Molina Day in the city of Los Angeles.
“We gather on the eve of a day in which we will honor the memory and the legacy of a true trailblazer here in Los Angeles — that’s no other than our very own Gloria Molina,” de León said.
“This date holds profound significance, marking the anniversary of the Chicano moratorium — the pivotal moment that ignited Gloria’s journey as an activist, a dedicated public official and a national figure in the battle for equity and justice,” he added.
Molina, the pioneering former L.A. County supervisor, city councilwoman and Assemblywoman — and the first Latina to serve on each of those bodies — died of cancer May 14, 2023, at the age of 74.
Rodriguez said it was a “tragic loss for our city,” and described Molina as a “trailblazer” who opened up opportunities for people in many communities to be seen and recognized.
“It was through her example and leadership that there were subsequently opportunities afforded to other Latinas to serve in legislative bodies, not just in Los Angeles, not just in California, but across the
country,” Rodriguez said.
Mayor Karen Bass, de León, Rodriguez, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Los Angeles, County Supervisor Hilda Solis and labor leader Dolores Huerta, among others, will host a mural dedication ceremony at 5:15 p.m. Aug. 29 in Boyle Heights on Saint Louis Street between First and Second streets. Margaret Garcia was commissioned to create the mural.
At 6:45 p.m., CASA 0101 Theater will host a reception and viewing of a new art exhibit titled “Gloria Molina: Madrina of the Eastside.”
Following the exhibit, guests will watch the premiere of playwright Josefina López’s “A Woman Named Gloria” in the Gloria Molina Auditorium at 8 p.m.
López, the founding artistic director of CASA 0101 Theater, said “Gloria Molina was someone who inspired me. She was one of my heroines.”
“Gloria Molina was a Chicana of action who wasn’t afraid to stand her ground and to speak up with conviction about matters that were important to her,” López added. “She was a doer, not a talker. She was a woman of firsts and a selfless public servant for the people who strived to represent her constituents’ needs.
“I wrote ‘A Woman Named Gloria’ as a poem for the dedication of the Gloria Molina Auditorium at CASA 0101 Theater on April 16, 2023, which I have now developed into a full-length play that is my love letter and permanent tribute to Gloria Molina thanking her for supporting CASA 0101 Theater and artists on the Eastside.”
Molina’s daughter, who serves as spokesperson for Molina’s family, said she was grateful for Lopez and the entire cast of “A Woman Named Gloria” for telling her mother’s story.
“It is my hope that this play … will stand the test of time as a permanent tribute to my mother’s life and legacy,” she added.
“A Woman Named Gloria” will be presented on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 3 p.m. for a six-week run, Aug. 30-Oct. 6, in the Gloria Molina Auditorium at CASA 0101 Theater.
Molina, who grew up in Pico Rivera, was active in the early days of the Chicano movement, becoming an advocate for women’s health issues — which she continued into her time in elected office. She also founded a nurse mentoring program through local community colleges to address a nurse shortage at the time.
She first gained elective office in 1982, winning the 56th Assembly District seat and eventually leading a fight to quash a proposed prison in East L.A.
Molina won the City Council’s First District seat in 1987, and was elected to the Board of Supervisors from the county’s First District in 1991.
She served as a supervisor through 2014, becoming known as a sharp fiscal watchdog before being termed out. Her district encompassed Koreatown, Pico-Union, East Los Angeles and parts of the San Gabriel Valley.
Molina was also the first woman elected to the Board of Supervisors — once known as the “Five Little Kings” — though Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, who was appointed to fill a vacancy, was the first woman to serve on the board.
Prior to her elected positions, Molina worked as a deputy for presidential personnel in the Jimmy Carter White House.
In recognition of Molina’s leadership, the Board of Supervisors in 2023 renamed Grand Park — a project Molina also championed — in her honor. It is now called Gloria Molina Grand Park.
