The Sunset Junction intersection in Silver Lake was renamed “Jackie Goldberg Sunset Junction” Tuesday in honor of the pioneering school board member, councilwoman and assemblywoman.
Signs designating the intersection of Santa Monica and Sunset boulevards in Goldberg’s honor were unveiled Tuesday afternoon by City Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez.
“Jackie Goldberg is an icon and a hero for so many people and communities that have been historically marginalized in our city and country,” Soto-Martinez, who introduced the motion designating the intersection in Goldberg’s honor, said in a statement.
“The renaming of this intersection, where the queer community and immigrant families have such a rich and important history, is not only appropriate, it is long overdue.”
The 80-year-old Goldberg joined Soto-Martinez and Los Angeles Unified District Board of Education President Scott Schmerelson and Superintendent Alberto Carvalho in speaking at the ceremony at the nearby Jiffy Lube.
“In the 1960s and 70s, it was not so easy to find neighborhoods that were friendly to LGBTQ folks … but Silver Lake was one,” Goldberg said in a statement. “The central gathering place was Sunset Junction, home to critical LGBTQ community hubs like Circus Books and the Black Cat Tavern. Things were not always harmonious between the newly arrived gay residents and the working class Latino families who lived here, but the Sunset Junction Street Fair, started in 1979, created a chance for these communities to get to know each other and celebrate each other.
“Even in these times when it feels like the clock is being turned back, and rights are being taken away, it’s so important to recognize the sacrifices people made to make things better,” Goldberg said in her statement. “So many of those people are no longer with us, but we can — and must — carry on their work.”
Goldberg was a high school teacher in Compton when she was first elected to the LAUSD board in 1983, serving until 1991. She was the board’s president from 1989-91. During her first stint on the board she helped implement bilingual education programs that became a national model and ended corporal punishment, according to the motion.
Goldberg became the first openly lesbian candidate to be elected to the Los Angeles City Council in 1993. Goldberg authored the “Living Wage” ordinance as a councilwoman and supported tenants’ rights through the inspection of apartments for health and safety compliance.
Goldberg was elected to the Assembly in 2000, where she authored legislation expanding rights for LGBT couples and helped secure funding for new schools in the LAUSD in an attempt to alleviate overcrowding.
Goldberg was also a member of the Board of Airport Commissioners, where she championed the Targeted Local Hire Program, benefiting veterans, disabled workers and ex-convicts.
Goldberg won a special election to the school board in 2019, filling the seat left vacant by Ref Rodriguez, who resigned due to felony charges. She was reelected in 2020, was again the board’s president from 2023-24. She chose not to run for re-election in 2024.
“Jackie Goldberg’s work has touched every corner of Los Angeles, and she leaves an unparalleled legacy of fighting for working people,” Soto-Martinez wrote in the motion.