Longtime local civil rights advocate and Cal State Long Beach alumnus Naomi Rainey-Pierson will be awarded an honorary degree by the school at a commencement ceremony in May.
Rainey-Pierson will be awarded an honor Doctor of Human Letters degree by the Cal State Long Beach College of Liberal Arts at a 9 a.m. ceremony on May 22.
She has spent the last 50 years as an activist working for the NAACP, the school said in a statement, including the last two decades as the president of the civil rights organization’s Long Beach chapter.
Rainey-Pierson got her start as a 14-year-old NAACP activist in the Antelope Valley where she grew up.
Long Beach State President Jane Close Conoley said Rainey-Pierson has spent all that time “fighting to eliminate racial prejudice,” describing her as a “model of what we hope our students endeavor to achieve.”
Rainey-Pierson graduated from Cal State Long Beach with two master’s degrees and several teach credentials, school officials said.
She also previously worked as an teacher and administrator at the Long Beach and Compton Unified school districts.
In 2012, Cal State Long Beach renamed a residence hall at its Hillside College after her. She’s also been a longtime donor to the school, officials said.
Officials said Rainey-Pierson will be fifth women in the school’s history to receive an honory degree.
In the statement, Rainey-Pierson said “it feels good to be recognized.”
“I want my legacy to show that it’s better to be united, but even as one you can make a difference,” she said.