COMMUNITY-LED
We Exist Because This Park Matters
We’re dedicated to making sure Martin Luther King Jr. Park is the park it was always meant to be, today and well into the future.
ABOUT FRIENDS OF MLK PARK
Get to know us
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We are Long Beach residents, neighbors, partners, and community leaders who got tired of watching a space with this name receive less than it deserved. Friends of MLK Park brings people together to protect, improve, and activate this park. Not as a project. As an ongoing commitment.
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Preserve, enhance, and activate MLK Park as the valued treasure it is to our community through community engagement, cultural programming, education, and strategic partnerships that honor the legacy of Dr. King. That is not a mission statement we take lightly. This place is more than a park.
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A park that is a premier destination for African-American heritage, cultural preservation, and social justice education. A living monument, not a static one. A place where Dr. King's legacy is practiced in real time by the people who call Long Beach home.
What’s Important to Us
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Bringing residents together through events and shared moments.
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Community and cultural connections, African American history, art, and identity visible year-round.
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Cleanups, beautification, and advocacy for long-term investment.
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Making the case for this park's history and what's possible.
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We work alongside organizations and the City of Long Beach for real impact.
WHY THIS PARK MATTERS
People Keep Coming Back Here
That is not an accident. MLK Park is where Long Beach families have gathered for decades. Birthday parties. Sunday afternoons. Community meetings that turned into something real. Spaces like this don't just exist. People build them through presence, care, and the choice to keep showing up.
The Name Is Not Decoration
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood for justice, dignity, and the belief that communities are worth fighting for. A park with his name carries that responsibility, not just as a symbol, but in practice. Through how it's maintained, what gets programmed there, and whether the community that uses it most feels seen.
Underinvestment Is Not Neutral
Like many public spaces in communities of color, MLK Park has faced periods of neglect. Less maintenance. Fewer resources. Improvements that got deprioritized or never came. The community's connection never wavered. The investment didn't always match that commitment. Changing that is part of our mission, not as charity, but as a matter of what this park has always deserved.
Here Is What's Possible
The MLK Park Vision Plan has been approved. That is a real opening. With community leadership, real partnerships, and sustained investment, this park can become a hub for our neighborhood and city, a designated center for African-American cultural programming, a space for learning and intergenerational connection, and a destination that reflects the heritage and pride of the community it serves.
This is not aspirational. It is already in motion.
Become a Partner
WE’RE IN GOOD COMPANY