The Long Beach City Council is expected to approve on Tuesday renaming two blocks of 28th Street to Jackie Robinson Way. The stretch will lead to Jackie Robinson Academy, which flanks Veterans Park.
The street change will happen on W. 28th Street from Pacific Avenue to Pine Avenue and on E. 28th Street from Pine Avenue to the roundabout in front of the magnet elementary school, which abuts the Metro A Line.
Momentum for the name change came from Rebecca Ngo, the school’s principal, who praised Robinson as a Civil Rights icon and a beloved ballplayer in Dodger history. Robinson was the first Black player in Major League Baseball’s modern era.
“At the school, we really uphold all these core values that Jackie Robinson espoused in his life,” Ngo said. “Courage, determination, commitment, persistence, integrity, justice, teamwork, citizenship and excellence — that’s been our principles since the founding.”
Robinson’s widow, sister, old teammates and fans attended the school’s opening in the fall of 1994. At that same ceremony, then-Long Beach City Councilmember Jenny Oropeza presented Robinson’s widow with a key to the city.
Ngo thought renaming the street was a fitting way to mark the school’s 30th anniversary. It’s a small change, Ngo said, that will serve as a “daily reminder of the impact one individual could have on breaking barriers and advancing Civil Rights.”
The item was brought to the City Council by Vice Mayor Roberto Uranga.
“I saw this as a way to further support inclusion while honoring the school and its namesake,” Uranga said in a statement. “Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball, and this renaming recognizes that legacy.”
An official with Vice Mayor Roberto Uranga’s office said the city Public Works Department will erect a temporary, ceremonial sign in time for the school’s end-of-year celebration in May. It will take about a year to make the name change permanent, he said.