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Posts tagged as “Herb Wesson”

Los Angeles City Council Approves Changing Name of Rodeo Road to Obama Boulevard

By goodblacknews on September 1, 2018
President Barack Obama (photo via twitter)

by  via latimes.com

The Los Angeles City Council voted to rename Rodeo Road as Obama Boulevard in honor of former President Obama, Mayor Eric Garcetti announced in a tweet Tuesday night.

“We’re thrilled that Angelenos and visitors will forever be reminded of the legacy of President @BarackObama when traveling across L.A.,” he said in the tweet.

City Council President Herb Wesson proposed the name change in June 2017.

Not to be confused with the upscale Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, Rodeo Road is a 3.5-mile street that runs from near the Culver City border east to Mid-City.

In his proposal, Wesson noted that Obama held a campaign rally at Rancho Cienega Park on Rodeo Road when running for president and that the area already has streets named after presidents, such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. It’s a residential strip in a predominantly African American community.

The road is also home to Dorsey High School, Baldwin Hills Elementary School and Rancho Cienega Sports Center and Park — where Obama held a campaign rally when he was running for president. East of La Brea Avenue, the new Obama Boulevard will intersect with Martin Luther King Boulevard (which was renamed from Santa Barbara Avenue in 1983).

The move is not the first to honor the former president in the greater Los Angeles area. In September, a resolution by state Sen. Anthony Portantino (D-La Cañada Flintridge) to rename a portion of the 134 Freeway passed. Several California schools have also been named after Obama, and in the Monterey Bay town of Seaside, city leaders designated one street Obama Way.

Source: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-oabma-boulevard-20180828-story.html

Lee Wesley Gibson, the Oldest Living Pullman Porter, Celebrates 105th Birthday

By goodblacknews on June 4, 2015

oldest living pullman porter, lee wesley gibson
Oldest Living Pullman Porter Lee Wesley Gibson observes his 105th birthday at Maggiano’s Italian Restaurant in Los Angeles on Thursday, May 21, 2015 with family friend Jan Tuggle at his side. (Photo via eurweb.com)

Over 100 family and friends came to celebrate the 105th birthday of Lee Wesley Gibson at Maggiano’s Italian Restaurant in Los Angeles on Thursday, May 21st, given by his three daughters, Gwendolyn Reed, Barbara Leverette and Gloria Gibson of Los Angeles.
According to records at the A. Phillip Randolph Museum in Chicago, Gibson is currently the oldest living Pullman Porters.  Gibson was immaculately dressed wearing a designer suit and tie, a custom white dress shirt with “105” embroidered on cuffs.
The invocations was given by his pastor, Bishop Craig A. Worsham of People’s Independent Church of Christ in Los Angeles.  The guests dined to a sumptuous meal, which included crabcakes, fried zucchini, pecan, apples and grapes garden salad, chicken marsala, tilipia, eggplant, spinach and mash potatoes, fresh fruit and New York cheesecake.
Gibson received a congratulatory letter was received from President Barack Obama, as well as resolutions from Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley Thomas, as well as, President of the  Los Angeles City Council Herb Wesson, signed by all members of the council.
Larry Jefferson, a close family friend, sang a soaring, acapella rendition of Happy Birthday prior to Gibson blowing out the candles on his cake.  As the afternoon came to a close, Gibson’s daughters, Gloria and Gwendolyn, paid tribute to their father and thanked everyone who helped make the afternoon possible.
Gibson was born on May 21, 1910 in Keatchie, Louisiana.  His family moved to Marshall, Texas when he was a young boy.  He later married Beatrice A. Gibson in 1927 and they moved their family to Los Angeles, California in 1936.
His beloved wife passed away in 2004 after 76 of marriage.  Gibson retired from Union Pacific Railroad in 1974 after serving for 38 years as a Pullman Porter.
Even after retirement, he continued to live life to the fullest.  He volunteered at Los Angeles International Airport assisting travelers.  Gibson also managed income tax preparation offices for H&R Block.  He served as District Director for AARP tax preparation assistance program for seniors.
Gibson has served as church treasurer, deacon, and officer of the church credit union at People’s Independent Church, where he has been a member for over 65 years.  Most recently Mr. Gibson was featured in a TV commercial for Dodge entitled “Wisdom,” which honored centenarians.  It aired during the 2015 Super Bowl telecast.
Gibson is in great health, taking only a daily vitamin.  He enjoys going to church, spending time with family and friends, watching the Los Angeles Dodgers and attending social events.  In addition to his three daughters, he is the grandfather of six, great-grandfather of nineteen, great-great-grandfather of twenty-two and the great-great-great-grandfather of three.
article via eurweb.com