AARP California

STATEMENT OF AARP CALIFORNIA STATE DIRECTOR NANCY MCPHERSON:

About 7.5 million Californians whose employers do not offer a retirement savings plan will soon have a way to save for retirement through payroll deductions.

In celebration of Black History Month AARP is recognizing Black Americans who have achieved phenomenal “firsts.” In this spirit, AARP in Los Angeles is sharing their stories here on our blog, as well as inviting followers on social media to share their own stories.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

To celebrate Black History Month and "Firsts After 50," we're highlighting trailblazing Californians like Emmett Ashford (1914- 1980), who in 1966 became the first Black American umpire in Major League Baseball at age 52. Ashford's story came to our attention when his daughter, Adrienne Bratton, shared a comment about him our Facebook page on a post about another famous Jefferson High School graduate and Angeleno -- Ralph Bunche, the first Black American to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

This past Election Day, AARP was proud to celebrate the passage of “The Los Angeles County Transportation Plan”, or Measure M. This ballot initiative is poised to deliver over $120 billion dollars’ worth of transit improvement projects that will relieve traffic across the region, fix sidewalks and potholes, and improve our quality of life. ( Read more here.) Now that the campaign is over, we’re hard at work at assembling an action plan to ensure that Measure M benefits AARP members across the County’s 88 cities. This week, we celebrated Measure M’s passage with our volunteers, and discussed the official launch of our special Los Angeles County transportation advocacy team. This team will be “in the know” about opportunities to speak up with your voice and help shape how Measure M dollars are spent in your communities. We’ll tell you all about the big meetings to attend and which elected representatives to contact. If you’d like to join this team, click here.

In celebration of Black History Month AARP is recognizing Black Americans who have achieved phenomenal “firsts.” In this spirit, AARP in Los Angeles is sharing their stories here on our blog, as well as inviting followers on social media to share their own stories.

For her Dedication and Commitment to Community Service, Davis will be Awarded the Most Prestigious AARP Volunteer Award.

By Elizabeth Blish Hughes

By Ray Huard