Los Angeles Celebrates Gloria Molina Day Honoring Chicana Political Trailblazer
The historic Chicana leader is being recognized for her contributions to the city of LA
FILE - Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina talks during an interview during the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) during its 13th annual conference in Los Angeles, Friday, June 28, 1996. Molina, a groundbreaking Chicana leader in state and local California politics for more than 30 years, has died on Sunday, May 14, 2023, at age 74. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
Trailblazing Chicana activist and California Latina Leader Gloria Molina was honored on Aug. 29 by the city of Los Angeles with the LA City Council officially recognizing it as Gloria Molina day. The event included the premiere of a tribute play, a mural unveiling, and a new art exhibit. The city gathered to dedicate a mural honoring Molina commissioned to well-known Boyle Heights native and Chicana artist Margaret Garcia, who is known as one of just 24 artists who have had an impact on LA Art. The ceremony also included the unveiling of an exhibit titled “Gloria Molina: Madrina of the Eastside” followed by the premiere of A Woman Named Gloria written by Chicana playwright Josefina Lopez, famous for writing the play Real Women Have Curves.
“I’m really happy to put a dedication on the wall in English and Spanish so that people will know who she is. We need women role models in this neighborhood… She got things done, and she protected our community,” Garcia, a long-time friend of Molina’s, told the Boyle Heights Beat.
The Chicana community leader, born in Montebello, California, made history three times when she became the first Latina elected to the California State Assembly in 1982, the first Latina elected to the Los Angeles City Council in 1987, and the first Latina elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in 1991.
Molina’s work as a political activist began in the early days of the Chicano movement with her participation in the Chicano Moratorium as a student at East Los Angeles College, and she was an advocate of women’s health issues, especially when it came to the sterilization of Latinas without their consent. She went on to aid in the founding of the local chapter of Comisión Femenil, a nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of Latinas. Molina also founded LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes and the Eastside Arts Initiative.
The date was chosen because of Chicano Moratorium march that took place in1970 which ignited her work as an activist and public servant, Council member Kevin de León said during the ceremony.
“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,” Council member Monica Rodriguez said.
Molina died of cancer on May 14, 2023 at 74 years old surrounded by family in her home in Mt. Washington after a three year battle. In recognition of her leadership and work as a supervisor through 2014 and her support for the park, the Board of Supervisors renamed Grand Park, a project championed by Molina, to Gloria Molina Grand Park in 2023.
“You should know that I’m not sad,” she wrote in a Facebook post announcing her cancer. “I enter this transition in life feeling so fortunate. I have an amazing and caring family, wonderful friends, and worked with committed colleagues and a loyal team.”
