Petition Push
Peach agreed to sign the petition. The drive continued down towards the bottom column of boxes. Do something. Please sign here.
Laurietta King was one of the many who canvassed the 1st District in search of individuals who would join the humble request. Their goal was to rename the 14th Street Skate Park as the Michael K. Green Skate Park in honor of Laurietta King’s son. The Long Beach legislative body would ultimately decide whether or not this would be granted.
The human hands have shuffled the paperwork and left fine prints. There’s unity between the beige stucco walls. Michael was young when he was caught in the crossfire during an April 9th, 2005 gang shooting on 20th and Olive. He had no gang involvement and was a sponsored skateboarder on his way to being signed as a professional skateboarder.
Peach is Laurietta’s sister-in-law and she has stood by Laurietta when the anguish was too much to bear alone. Do you know those nights when you call out for help in the darkness? The ink is exposed above Peach’s cleavage line: a single, whole peach fruit. Those by our side are hand picked.
The renaming proposal started by former Councilmember Mike Donelon and Robert Garcia before the Long Beach government. The government wouldn’t do it for Ms. King, so she would have to give her blood, sweat and tears for the big push on earth.
As it is in heaven, the deep meaning behind the formal request was based in love. Michael, who was a Long Beach resident, could be at one time seen at Cherry Park being groomed by professional skateboarders like Danny Montoya, Chad Tim Tim and Rob Gonzalez. He touched people in different ways with his passion for skateboarding. The petition transformed into a quiet supplication before God within Laurietta’s heart. Along the journey, Peach became one signature of one thousand to accomplish the purpose of the proposal.
Peach’s pen moving over the paper within the designated field requires admirable faith upon the clipboard. The soul signatures of others creates steady momentum. Laurietta kept pushing: praying until something happened. She wept for the children she kept urging to push forward and stay away from the violence of the streets.
Love is a comforter. Love is kind. Love never fails. Furthermore, love is an action. Laurietta has rallied the community together by loving others like her own children. If you have a conversation with Ms. King, you’ll hear her utter the concluding words, “major love”. Something happened in a way nobody could foresee except for the Author in heaven who perfects our faith.