Seeds of Resilience began with conversations at Rancho Los Cerritos about how to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States while deepening our collective understanding of the people who have shaped Long Beach. This region has been home to many communities for thousands of years, with generations creating a lasting presence through their cultures and experiences.
What began as an idea at Rancho Los Cerritos grew through conversations with partners across Long Beach and evolved into a citywide collaborative initiative. Along the way, two questions guided the work: How would people today tell the story of our city? How do we preserve these histories? The collaborative then launched a public call for artists and storytellers and secured funding for microgrants to help participants share their histories and connections to Long Beach with the public.
On Tuesday, September 22, these stories will come together at Seeds of Resilience: The Story of Long Beach, a free Community Activation Day at Civic Center Plaza featuring live performances, oral histories, art, and community history projects.
Local Histories Within a National Milestone
The history of this region extends far beyond a single moment in time. For thousands of years, the Tongva and other Indigenous peoples stewarded this land, and generations of Black, Filipino, Mexican, and many other communities have shaped Southern California through migration, labor, culture, and civic life.
The Community Activation Day brings these histories into conversation with one another, offering a broader understanding of the people who have defined this city and how their stories continue to resonate today.
Seeds of Resilience: Barrio Americano
At Rancho Los Cerritos, these themes are reflected through our current exhibition, Seeds of Resilience: Barrio Americano, which centers Mexican American histories in the Long Beach area and the ways communities navigated social and political challenges.
The exhibit recreates an early twentieth-century barrio to show how everyday places became sites of collective care, cultural preservation, and organizing in the face of discrimination. Barrio Americano also asks visitors to consider what it has meant, and continues to mean, to seek belonging in the United States.
On September 22, Rancho Los Cerritos will bring an interactive, mobile version of Barrio Americano to Civic Center Plaza. The pop-up will place this history alongside stories from across the city, connecting one community’s experience to the broader story of Long Beach.
Seeds of Resilience: The Story of Long Beach
Tuesday, September 22, 2026
2-7 PM
Civic Center Plaza (411 W. Ocean Boulevard, Long Beach, CA 90802)
FREE
About Seeds of Resilience
Seeds of Resilience is a citywide collaborative initiative led by the Office of Mayor Rex Richardson, Rancho Los Cerritos, Rancho Los Alamitos, the Historical Society of Long Beach, the Ti’at Society, Long Beach Public Libraries, Long Beach Unified School District, and the Arts Council for Long Beach. For more information, visit artslb.org/seeds-of-resilience
