Secretary of State Shirley Weber rose to prominence in San Diego, but her early life in Los Angeles shaped her.
“It is important that you understand that I am a product of Los Angeles,” Weber said. “I say that every day because there are many things I learned in Los Angeles that I couldn’t have learned anywhere else.”
To that end, the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday declared Feb. 14 “Shirley N. Weber Day” in honor of the first Black secretary of state in California’s history.
In celebration of Black History Month, Councilman Curren Price introduced a resolution recognizing Weber’s numerous achievements.
Weber is a native of Price’s Ninth District, encompassing neighborhoods in South L.A.
“This morning she returned home as one of South Central’s greatest champions,” Price said during Wednesday’s council meeting as Weber looked on. “We celebrate the homecoming of an undeniable force who has merged from the streets of South L.A. to the epitome showing strength and grit.”
Weber was born in Hope, Arkansas on Sept. 20, 1948, as one of eight children to Mildred and David Nash during the era of Jim Crow segregation laws. Upon fleeing the rural south as a result of her father’s stand against racist white farmers and lynch mobs, she and her family relocated to Los Angeles’ Pueblo Del Rio housing project.
Weber graduated from UCLA with her bachelor and master’s degrees, and her Ph.D., where she focused on communications.
Weber taught at L.A. City College and Cal State Los Angeles, then, in 1972, became one of the youngest professors at San Diego State University.
During her tenure at SDSU, she served as the chairperson of the Department of Africana Studies, president of the National Council for Black Studies and the executive director of San Diego’s Association of African American Educators.
She was elected to serve on the San Diego Board of Education for two terms, and chaired the San Diego Citizens’ Equal Opportunity Commission.
Voters elected Weber in 2012, making her the first Black representative of the 79th Assembly District, encompassing southeastern San Diego. She was re-elected through 2020, and chaired several committees.
Weber was appointed secretary of state by Gov. Gavin Newsom, succeeding Alex Padilla, who was appointed California’s junior U.S. senator after then-Sen. Kamala Harris was elected vice president.
Weber was appointed on Jan. 29, 2021. She was inaugurated not only as the first Black secretary of state, but also only the fifth African-American to serve as a state constitution officer in the state’s 173-year history.
“Dr. Weber’s lifelong commitment to service within the realm of civil rights, voting rights, public safety, protections for those with disabilities, food insecurity and legislation on education led her to effectively fill the vacant office of California Secretary of State,” the L.A. resolution reads.
Weber thanked the City Council for its recognition and emphasized that her parents had done everything in their power to love and nurture her and her siblings.
“My only regret in life is that my parents are not here to see what they did, what they made, and see the contributions they made not just to my life, but to the life of California,” she added. “I always pay tribute to them.”
Weber has two adult children, three grandchildren and was married for 29 years to the late Daniel Weber. Her daughter, Akilah Weber of La Mesa, was elected to represent the 79th state Assembly District in April 2021.
– City News Service contributed to this report