Riverside spotlights local African Americans as Black History Month begins

As the nation celebrates the achievements and history of African Americans during this 47th annual Black History Month, the city of Riverside took a deeper dive into the robust history, contributions and triumphs of several notable African American community members.

Rose Mayes: Since 1993, Mayes was instrumental in establishing equity in housing as the executive director of the Fair Housing Council of Riverside County. After more than 50 years since President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Federal Fair Housing Act, which aimed to end racial discrimination in housing, Mayes continues to dedicate her life to housing equity and preventing discrimination.

“In addition to her fight for justice in housing, Rose is a co-founder of the Riverside African American Historical Society, which has been a guiding force for the Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California and the erection of the MLK statue Downtown in 1998,” according to a city statement.

For updates on Mayes’ latest project, visit www. inlandcivilrights.org/.

Dell Roberts: The city described Roberts as a “legendary youth advocate and community icon” who has worked for 38 years at the Riverside Unified School District as a football coach and campus supervisor as well as the assistant principal in charge of discipline at Poly High School from 1965-1989. Roberts was also as assistant administrator in charge of discipline and campus security for RUSD from 1989 until his retirement in 2003.

He founded the Black Students Union at local high schools in 1968, the Riverside Black History Committee in 1979 and the Black History Parade in 1980, according to the city of Riverside.

Roberts and his wife Carmen run the Adrian “Dell” & Carmen Roberts Foundation in Riverside, which plans and hosts cultural activities and events throughout the year.

Roberts was recently announced as the recipient of the Frank Miller Civic Achievement Award for 2022, and he will be honored May 19 during a ceremony and dinner at the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa.

Charles Bibbs: “As one of the leaders in the African American art print market, acclaimed artist and Riverside resident, Charles Bibbs shares his perspective on the beauty of art and what it means to be an artist,” the city stated. Bibbs’ artwork combines African American and Native American themes that convey evocative crosscultural observations. His work has been featured in exhibitions at the Riverside Art Museum.

“In his quest to preserve and develop the visual arts, you can find Charles serving on boards of museums and art organizations to support the art community,” according to the city.

To learn more about Charles Bibbs and view his artwork, visit www.cbibbs. com/

Bobby Bonds: “Elizabeth and Robert Bonds Sr. moved to Riverside in 1957 with their four children,” the city stated. “Rosie was a 1964 Olympic Hurdler, Robert Jr. and David

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were also top athletes. Bobby was one of Riverside’s most famous athletes.”

As a professional baseball player, Bobby Bonds was best known for his power-hitting and speed. Bonds was the first MLP player to hit at least 30 home runs and steal at least 30 bases in a single season — a feat he repeated five times.

Bonds was also the first baseball player in the 20th century to hit a grand slam in his first professional game.

He was a three-time all-star who hit 332 career home runs, 1024 RBIs and 461 stolen bases. Other career highlights include playing in the 1971 National League Championship Series, his 1973 all-star MVP achievement and winning three Gold Gloves.

Bobby’s son Barry was a baseball legend in his own right — he became Major League Baseball’s all-time home run leader with 762. Barry was born in Riverside while the family lived in the city in 1964.

Dusty Baker: Johnnie B. “Dusty” Baker was born June 15, 1949, and grew up in Riverside’s Eastside neighborhood. Baker spent a lifetime in baseball, and after a productive 19-year career as an outfielder for four teams — the Atlanta Braves, LA Dodgers, San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics — he joined the managerial ranks and is currently skipper for the Houston Astros.

“Baker is the first manager to guide five franchises to a division title — having done so with the Giants, Cubs, Reds, Nationals, and Astros,” the city reported. “He is also the only three-time Major League Baseball Manager of the Year in league history. In November 2009, the City of Riverside named the baseball fields at Andulka Park in honor of the MLB legend.”

Cheryl Miller: “Cheryl Miller took women’s basketball off the court and into the air above the rim,” the city stated. Some of her Southern California basketball highlights include a 105-point game against Norte Vista High School in 1982.

She led Riverside Polytechnic High School to a record of 132-4 and graduated high school both a fourtime state champion and four-time all-American.

Miller then competed at the collegiate level at the University of Southern California. There she was a four-time all-American, three-time Naismith College Player of the Year and led USC to back-to-back NCAA championships in 1983 and 1984.

Miller went on to win five Olympic gold medals “and is credited as a pioneer of women’s basketball,” according to the city of Riverside.

“She is also the first woman to dunk a basketball in a women’s basketball game and is the first female analyst to call a nationally televised NBA game (1996).”

Reggie Miller: “Cheryl’s younger brother, Reggie “Baby Ice” Miller cemented his legacy as one of the best all-around shooters in NBA history,” the city stated.

At UCLA, Reggie Miller ranked second on the school’s all-time scoring list. After graduating from UCLA, Miller was the 11th pick in the NBA draft and played 18 seasons all for the Indiana Pacers, breaking many NBA records during his playing years.

Upon his retirement, Miller held the NBA’s record for most three-pointers, netting 2,560 threes.

The Miller siblings are the only brother and sister pair to both be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Civil Rights Institute: The Civil Rights Institute, located at 3933 Mission Inn Ave. in the Raincross District of Downtown Riverside, is now open to the public. The institute “serves as a repository that will include exhibit and archival space for historical civil rights documents, artifacts, videos and audio recordings of all of the communities and regions surrounding Riverside County,” according to the city. To learn more about the Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California, go to www.inlandcivilrights. org/

The city also provide these local Black history facts:

-- Allen Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, started in 1875 in the city of Riverside and is the oldest African American church in the county.

-- “Lincoln Park was the place to be on summer days and nights from the 1930s through the ’50s, when you could watch the all-black Dukes play baseball, hang out at John Allen’s popular Sweet Shop, learn to dance at the recreation center run by the Stratton family or swim at the city’s only pool for blacks during segregation.”

-- The first street named for after an African American in Riverside was Langston Place, which runs between 12th and 14th streets east of Victoria. The roadway was named for John Mercer Langston, former dean of Howard University’s Law School. He and his wife Alice were large property owners in Riverside.