Overview: The Riverside City Council held a meeting to celebrate Black History Month and recognize the contributions of the Black community in Riverside. The meeting also addressed public concerns about the council’s financial accountability and the need for affordable housing. Additionally, the council proclaimed February 25, 2026, as Rain Cross Day, the official symbol of Riverside, to promote historical understanding and community dialogue.
Alyssah Hall
Though Black History Month has come to an end, the Riverside City Council held a meeting that celebrated the contributions of the Black community in Riverside and declared Feb. 25 Rain Cross Day, the official symbol of Riverside.
The meeting started off with a prayer, followed by public comments from six local residents. One community member suggested that the council had accountability issues in the amount of money paid to vendors, citing a payment of over $1million to the non profit Helping Hearts LLC between 2021 and 2024.
Two other public commenters shared the same sentiment questioning the reasoning behind the council’s truck donation to Arlington Business Partnership and wanting transparency on the matter. A caller mentioned the council’s 4-3 opposition in the $20.1 million state grant to build housing for low income and unhoused folks. They addressed an upcoming trip the council has to San Francisco to talk about how they are dealing with their unhoused population. The caller urged the council to ask San Francisco how helpful they think a public bank would be and their capacity to address affordable housing.
Following the public comments, Riverside Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson proclaimed the month of February 2026 as Black History Month in the City of Riverside. Lock Dawson encouraged residents to join in the commemoration of the contributions of African American residents and their ancestors.
Michael James of the greater Riverside Chamber of Commerce thanked the council for the proclamation and also asked for a moment of silence for Nile Blackston Jefferson, a young Black man who lost his life on Feb.6.
“Mayor Lock Dawson often says, ‘When you choose Riverside. Riverside chooses you.’ That spirit has lived strongly in Riverside housing historic black communities that have shaped the city through resilience, entrepreneurship, culture and leadership for generations. Black history here isn’t just something we remember, it’s something that we continue to move Riverside forward. I’m honored to be joined today by community leaders who embody that legacy,” James said.
“Black History Month is about honoring the past, recognizing the present and committing to a better future,” James continued.
The Black community members highlighted at the meeting were Adrian Dell and Carmen Roberts of the Adrian Dell and Carmen Roberts Foundation, Jonathan and Patricia Summers of the Cal Smog Auto Institute, Pepi and Sylvia Jackson of the Riverside Black Chamber of Commerce, Benita Braxton, owner of Gram’s barbecue and John Jefferson, owner of Cold Cutz barbershop and ColdLabel Studio. Jefferson is the father of Nile and was unable to make it to the meeting.
“It has just been one of the greatest privileges of my life, getting to serve and to work to address issues affecting our Black residents and community that are specific to our community and that you have raised and brought to us on needs where we can improve as a city, how we can better, serve and uplift and tell the stories of our Black community when you have contributed to Riverside and beyond,” said Councilwoman Clarissa Cervantes.
Lock Dawson also proclaimed Feb. 25, 2026 as Raincross Day on behalf of the Mission Inn Foundation, a non-profit organization, established in 1976 to preserve and promote the cultural heritage of the Mission Inn.
“The raincross is one of the most enduring and recognizable symbols of the city of Riverside. Representing over a century of civic identity, the symbol uniquely fuses a mission bell with a rain cross form drawn from indigenous traditions,” Lock Dawson shared.
“And the celebration of raincross day invites residents, artists, scholars and visitors to engage with Riverside’s layered history through lectures, workshops, walking tours, artistic collaborations and community storytelling, recognizing both the pride and complexity embedded for shared iconography,” Lock Dawson continued.