Civil Rights Movement leader, war on poverty advocate, the Queen Mother herself: Dale Clinton will have her legacy honored with the renaming of the MLK Park Facilities Center to the Dale E. Clinton Facilities Center. 

At nearly 99 years old, Clinton has touched countless lives throughout Long Beach. Over the course of several decades, she worked to enroll youth and families into life-changing programs to combat poverty and discrimination and laid the groundwork for MLK Park’s Central Facility Center, which has provided health services to the local community since the mid ‘70s. 

“When she arrived in Long Beach in 1959 with five children and limited resources, she did not retreat from hardship. She leaned into service,” said Sharifa Batts, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peoples (NAACP) Long Beach branch. “She became a leader in the war on poverty programs, helped approve families for the first Head Start classes in Long Beach, and even wrote President Lyndon B. Johnson to preserve federal funding for Head Start.” 

A statue of Martin Luther King Jr. is prominently displayed at the Long Beach park, bearing his name on Oct. 3, 2022. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune)

Clinton was born in Tupelo, Mississippi in 1927 and as a young woman moved westward twice during the Great Migration of African Americans. Once in Long Beach, Clinton leaned on her community and Equal Opportunity Programs to support herself and her children, quickly becoming an advocate and helping others do the same. 

“I’m choked up on the work she did in our community and I’m honored to speak on their behalf,” said Lillian Parker with the Friends of MLK Park. “She’s a revered community elder whose historical legacy in the sixth district spans over 60 years. Dale Clinton’s vision, advocacy and commitment to community wellbeing reflects the very principles of Martin Luther King, Jr. Park and represents equity, service and empowerment. It is both honorable and fitting that the City finally recognizes her contributions in the space she helped to bring to life.” 

Clinton was responsible for enrolling the first group of Long Beach students into Head Start classes in the ‘60s, getting the city to convert an old hotel into a homeless shelter and starting an interracial integration groups for Poly High School, which is credited for keeping the school open amidst racial tensions and threats from white supremacists in the ‘60s. Clinton’s letter received a response from former President Johnson and is recorded in the Library of Congress. 

An aerial view of the green space that includes soccer and baseball fields at Martin Luther King Jr. Park in Long Beach on Oct. 3, 2022. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune)

“She was a champion for struggling single mothers and others in areas like welfare and the poverty program and Head Start and social justice,” said Charles Clinton, one of Dale’s five children. 

This item was unanimously approved by the Long Beach City Council Tuesday night and brought forward by Councilmember Suely Saro, who oversees the area in which the park is located. 

“I want to make sure that this unsung hero, who has shaped the city, is permanently woven into the physical and civic fabric of Long Beach,” Saro said. “Dale Clinton is a tireless advocate for civil rights, antipoverty efforts, welfare rights, fair housing, racial equity, youth development and economic opportunity … she is widely recognized as a matriarch of the Black community of Long Beach and her leadership has been foundational to the progress we have seen in this city.”

Affectionately known as “Queen Mother,” Clinton worked for the City of Long Beach for decades, and is credited for laying the groundwork for getting the facility in MLK Park open in 1974. She was described by friends, family and admirers at Tuesday night’s city council meeting as someone who embodies “resilience in advocacy, courage and community building.”

The facility will receive new signage, including a photo of Clinton and a biography outlining her legacy in the city. 

“She was courageous, She was a fighter when it took a lot of guts to stand up to the institution, to be part of the social change that was taking place in Long Beach,” Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal said. “Maybe we’re not perfect, but without Dale Clinton we would never be where we’re at today … She is one of the great trailblazers of her era.”

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