[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 553 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 553

Honoring the life, achievements, and legacy of Gloria Molina, the first 
 Latina elected to the California State Legislature, the first Latina 
 elected to Los Angeles City Council, and the first Latina elected to 
                Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 23, 2023

  Ms. Sanchez (for herself, Mr. Cardenas, Ms. Chu, Ms. Barragan, Mr. 
 Carbajal, Mr. Correa, Mr. Costa, Mr. Espaillat, Mr. Robert Garcia of 
 California, Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Mr. Gomez, Ms. Lee of California, 
 Ms. Lofgren, Mr. Mullin, Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. Peters, Ms. Porter, Mr. 
 Vargas, and Ms. Waters) submitted the following resolution; which was 
       referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Honoring the life, achievements, and legacy of Gloria Molina, the first 
 Latina elected to the California State Legislature, the first Latina 
 elected to Los Angeles City Council, and the first Latina elected to 
                Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

Whereas Gloria Molina was born on May 31, 1948, in Montebello, California, to 
        Leonard Molina and Concepcion Molina, who immigrated from Casa Grandes, 
        Chihuahua, Mexico;
Whereas Gloria Molina was the oldest of 10 siblings, and assisted her parents in 
        raising her siblings;
Whereas Gloria Molina graduated from El Rancho High School in 1966 and attended 
        Rio Hondo Community College, East Los Angeles Community College, and 
        California State University, Los Angeles;
Whereas Gloria Molina's activism was sparked by the Chicano movement and passion 
        for women's empowerment;
Whereas before being elected to public office, Gloria Molina volunteered for 
        President Carter's campaign office in California in 1975, and later 
        served as a staffing specialist in the Office of Presidential Personnel 
        for the President;
Whereas, in 1979, Gloria Molina served as the Director of Intergovernmental and 
        Congressional Affairs for the Region IX office of the Department of 
        Health and Human Services;
Whereas Gloria Molina was elected to the California State Assembly from the 56th 
        Assembly District in 1982, where she combined passionate advocacy with 
        formidable political skill to strengthen communities in the 56th 
        Assembly District and statewide, and served until her 1987 election to 
        the Los Angeles City Council;
Whereas, in 1987, Gloria Molina was the first ever Latina elected to and only 
        the third person of Mexican ancestry to serve on the Los Angeles City 
        Council;
Whereas, in 1991, after decades of gerrymandering that excluded Latino 
        representation on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, Gloria 
        Molina was elected as the first Latina to represent the first Latino 
        district;
Whereas when Gloria Molina was elected to a seat on the Los Angeles County Board 
        of Supervisors for the First District she became known as a fiscal 
        watchdog committed to overseeing good government reforms, maintenance of 
        the county's public health care system, and quality of life issues for 
        the millions of county residents living in unincorporated Los Angeles 
        County and served until 2014;
Whereas Gloria Molina served honorably for 23 years, representing a district 
        that stretched from Koreatown, Pico-Union, and East Los Angeles all the 
        way east to Pomona and included much of the San Gabriel Valley;
Whereas Gloria Molina began her advocacy advancing health care and political 
        access for Latinas as president of Comision Feminil Mexicana National;
Whereas, throughout her career, Gloria Molina served on various boards including 
        the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), the 
        Southwest Voter Education and Registration Project, the National 
        Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) and the 
        California Community Foundation;
Whereas Gloria Molina also served for over 10 years as 1 of the 4 Vice Chairs of 
        the Democratic National Committee (DNC);
Whereas Gloria Molina, a strong advocate for the arts and the celebration of 
        Mexican-American culture, traditions, and history, in 2011 established 
        LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes and in 2014 the Eastside Arts Initiative to 
        support community-based arts organizations, including CASA 0101 and 
        Self-Help Graphics;
Whereas, a master quilter and artist herself, Gloria Molina formed the East LA 
        Stitchers (TELAS) to inspire Latinas to express their culture through 
        this art form;
Whereas Gloria Molina was a champion for social justice and fought tirelessly 
        for the most vulnerable Angelenos, such as fighting back against a plan 
        to build a prison in the Eastside, helping grow the public 
        transportation system, and ending the forced sterilizations of women at 
        the General Hospital in Los Angeles;
Whereas, throughout a distinguished career, Gloria Molina touched the lives of 
        countless people and will have her life and legacy preserved in Los 
        Angeles;
Whereas the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of 
        Directors voted to dedicate the East Los Angeles Civic Center station in 
        Gloria Molina's name;
Whereas the CASA 0101 Theater in Boyle Heights designated its main theater as 
        the ``Gloria Molina Auditorium'' in honor of Gloria Molina's donations 
        to Latino arts in the Southland area of Los Angeles;
Whereas the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution to 
        rename Grand Park the ``Gloria Molina Grand Park'' commemorating Gloria 
        Molina's service to Los Angeles;
Whereas the Los Angeles City Council adopted a motion to rename a portion of the 
        Observation Deck in the Tom Bradley Tower which overlooks Grand Park, as 
        the ``Gloria Molina Observation Deck''; and
Whereas Gloria Molina passed away on May 14, 2023, at the age of 74 after 
        battling cancer for 3 years: Now, therefore be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) extends its deepest sympathies to the friends and loved 
        ones of Gloria Molina of Mount Washington, California, in their 
        bereavement; and
            (2) recognizes and celebrates Gloria Molina's historic 32-
        year political career and the series of firsts that inspired 
        generations of women and Latinas to seek public office, being 
        the first Latina Assembly Member in California, the first 
        Latina on the Los Angeles City Council, and the first Latina on 
        the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors.
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