Grace Simons

Grace E. Simons was an activist who lived in Los Angeles and is known for her work in preserving Elysian Park as open space.

[7] While working at the California Eagle, Simons interacted with multiple people including Martin Luther King Jr.,[8] the concert artist Khalil Nimini Ben Bezaleel,[9] and Robert Farrell.

[10] Abie Robinson, a reporter at the California Eagle, said that during a 1963 press conference Malcolm X called Simons the best journalist he knew.

[23] She received an "Award of Exception Distinction" from Governor Jerry Brown in 1967 for her work in preserving Elysian Park.

[17][27] In 1993, after her death, the sculptor Peter Shire started a memorial sculpture that sits in Elysian Park and honors Simons and her husband Frank Glass.

Picture of the entrance to Elysian Park with path, stone wall, and sidewalk
Entrance to Elysian Park, a park in Los Angeles that Simons worked to retain as open space