Long Beach Public Library Foundation

Long Beach Leaders are Readers: Mayor Rex Richardson, City of Long Beach

Long Beach Leaders are Readers features leaders in our community as they share their recommended reads. This month, we have a very special featured leader in honor of Father’s Day: City of Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson. Mayor Richardson has shared the following reading recommendation. Enjoy!

Fatherhood: Rising to the Ultimate Challenge

by Etan Thomas

This book is for all the dads out there. Fatherhood can look a lot of different ways and the stories inside Etan Thomas’ book remind us of that. These stories are a great reminder for me that no matter what your fatherhood journey looks like, if your kids are three or thirty, we all have the same goal: to be the best Dad we can be.

-Rex Richardson

Mayor, City of Long Beach

Rex Richardson is the 29th Mayor of Long Beach: a husband, father, and trailblazer as the first Black mayor in the city’s history. Mayor Rex Richardson and his wife Dr. Nina Richardson are proudly raising their two young daughters, Alina and Mila, in the North Long Beach community.

Learn more about Mayor Richardson on the City of Long Beach website.


Part of our Long Beach Leaders are Readers program includes inviting the featured leader to sign the inside of their book recommendation so that future patrons who check the book out will be able to learn about the significance of the book to our local leaders. Keep an eye out for the signed recommendations at your local branch!


Find “Fatherhood: Rising to the Ultimate Challenge” at your local neighborhood branch here.