Mural by Thundr One. Photograph courtesy of López Urban Farm
March 19 was Ignacio López Day in the city of Pomona by proclamation of the city council.
The date marked the 116th anniversary of the birth of the late journalist and civil rights champion Ignacio López ’31, who fought discrimination against Latinos in the region for decades, publishing his influential El Espectador newspaper in Pomona from 1933 to 1960.
His name lives on through both Pomona’s Ignacio López Elementary School and the López Urban Farm, a partnership between the local nonprofit Community Partners 4 Innovation and Pomona Unified School District. The farm provides people in the community with access to locally grown food and also educates youth on sustainable agriculture practices. Among the murals at the farm is one depicting López.