Long Beach residents will have a chance Monday evening to weigh in on long-awaited renovation projects planned for Martin Luther King Jr. Park.
According to Public Works, city staff will provide a first glimpse of the new park designs, which will be funded by more than $5 million as part of the city’s plan to revamp infrastructure before the 2028 Olympic Games. The community center and park restrooms will get a new roof and accessibility upgrades. The park is slated to receive two full basketball courts, a walking path, fitness and playground equipment, benches, picnic tables, drinking fountains and new signage — some of the improvements neighbors have been promised.
For years, Lillian Parker and other residents of Central Long Beach have pushed for greater resource allocation to the park, “the heartbeat of our city,” according to Parker. “There’s a lot of history here at this park. There’s a lot of pride,” she said, adding that residents of the neighborhood haven’t seen adequate improvements at the park in decades.
In recent years, the park’s statue of Martin Luther King has had its nameplate stolen multiple times and been vandalized with Nazi hate symbols. Though city officials and community members took swift action to restore the statue, community members called for deeper investment in the park as a whole — in addition to more safeguards to protect the statue.
In 2023, the city held a series of surveys and workshops for residents to give input on their vision for the park — from equipment and landscaping to safety and lighting. The next year, the city published a vision plan for the park, based on that feedback as well as an audit of the park’s needs. City Council approved the plan, expected to cost $9.6 million, the Signal Tribune reported.
But progress stalled. Sharon Diggs-Jackson, who grew up in the area and is currently the community organizer for the Historically Black Cultural District (which includes the park), said she hasn’t received updates since then.
Seeking swifter action, Parker and her neighbors mobilized as Friends of MLK Park. “We just put on our shoes and began to door knock and email and call and just be fierce,” she said. In recent months, Public Works has been diligently working with the group, Parker said.
The improvements will be completed in phases, according to Public Works, with construction to begin on phase one this summer. Diggs-Jackson hopes that some of the other improvements discussed in community meetings — such as an amphitheater and even relocating the statue of Martin Luther King Jr. — might still be considered in a future phase of construction. (Additional phases will be completed pending funding, Public Works said. Current funding comes from Los Angeles County’s Measure A funds, Construction and Demolition, Park Impact Fees and a Congressional Earmark fund.)
The first round of upgrades will prioritize adolescents, Parker said. The park has been without basketball courts for years, something she hopes will be an outlet for teens in particular. “They need to be able to take out their energy in the park,” she said, adding that outdoor spaces designed for them “have to come back.”
Diggs-Jackson hopes that these improvements will “make the park a lot more vibrant” and build on momentum already generated by neighborhood residents. The park’s renovated swimming pool opened last year, and the facilities center was recently renamed as the Dale E. Clinton Facilities Center, honoring the civil rights leader who spent decades championing Black residents of Long Beach. Now, Diggs-Jackson is working with the health department to bring additional non-profits into the space to offer more services to residents and parkgoers.
“I’m hopeful that this park becomes a priority,” Parker said, “because the people have waited for a very long time.”
The meeting will take place Monday, May 18, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Martin Luther King Jr. Park Community Center at 1950 Lemon Ave.