First She Watched History on TV. Then She Made It.

Acquanetta Warren's election in 2010 was historic. She is Fontana, Calif.'s first female and first African-American mayor. Her inspiration for public service is actually rooted in watching history being made.

“My parents would have [me] in front of the TV every morning and every evening watching the news," remembers Warren. “I was really afraid because of the civil rights [protests] going on in the South [in the 1960s]. But the more I became afraid, the stronger I became about what I wanted to do -- and that was to change things.”

On this episode of "In the Arena," a podcast about public leadership, Warren reflects on the importance of teaching kids about the legacies of MLK and JFK, her initial resistance to running for office, the pitfalls of working in public view, and why her father -- an aerospace worker -- used to tell her that she's been to the moon.

Listen to the full interview below. You can also subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts  or Stitcher, or bookmark the "In the Arena" page.

 

 

Featured on This Episode:

• Healthy Fontana

 

Future Guests:

• Kristen Cox, executive director of Utah Office of Management and Budget
• Steve Benjamin, mayor of Columbus, S.C.

 

Previous Episodes of "In The Arena":

• Greg Fischer, mayor of Louisville
• Themis Klarides, Connecticut House minority leader 
• Eric Garcetti, mayor of Los Angeles, Calif.
• Clay Jenkinson, humanities scholar