South Los Angeles Activist Lillian Mobley Dies

LOS ANGELES (AP) — South Los Angeles activist Lillian Mobley, who advocated for better education, transportation, healthcare and other public services for the community, has died.

Her son Kenneth Mobley says his mother died Monday at Centinela Medical Center in Los Angeles from natural causes. She was 81.

Mobley was part of a group who spearheaded the fight to bring a hospital to South Los Angeles residents after the 1965 Watts riot. The result was Martin Luther King Hospital, later known as Martin Luther King/Drew Medical Center.

Her son says Mobley also was instrumental in the opening of the Charles Drew Medical School, which opened doors for African-Americans and other minorities to train in the health care field.

Funeral services will be held July 29 at Ward AME Church in Los Angeles.

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