About Me | Mayor - City of Moreno Valley

 My professional title has not always been Dr. McBean/Mack because there was a time in my life when I was an Essential Worker. However, during that time I was not even aware or had any knowledge that my job title was being referred to as an Essential Worker. I started out as a janitor in a hospital where I could not even be seen as a patient because I was Black. I went from working as a janitor in the hospital to working as a janitor, cleaning office buildings in downtown Palo Alto California. My next job was as a receptionist for an OBGYN Medical Doctor in Redwood City California, who taught me front and back office procedures. I caught on quickly and went to work at Sequoia Medical Center in Redwood City California as an Emergency Room technician/Aide. I had numerous Essential Worker positions. Therefore I can identify with our current Essential Workers of today. 

I am no longer an Essential Worker because I worked days and went to school nights to educate myself to change my status. Following these essential worker jobs, I had accumulated enough hours to work as a Nurse’s Aide from 1967-1971. I continued my education, earning my Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) license in 1971. I will always be grateful to Cedar Sinai for their career ladder programs that took me from LVN to ADN to BSN. My educational journey continued at Cal Baptist University in Riverside California where I obtained a Master’s of Science in Education in 2000.  Following that journey, I enrolled at Cal State San Bernardino and obtained a Master’s of Science in Nursing in 2003. Continuing on, I was awarded a Nurse Educator Certification in 2004 from California Health Science Institute in Garden Grove. Following that, I obtained a Biomedical Ethics Certificate in 2009 from Loma Linda University. Lastly, I obtained a Doctorate in Educational Leadership with an Ethics emphasis from Argosy University in Ontario California in 2012. As a mature nurse, but no longer an Essential Worker, I worked my tail off while going through school.  I attended classes Monday through Thursday and worked every weekend Friday Saturday and Sunday as a Weekend Warrior Nurse. My car became my bedroom. The trunk of my car housed all of my personal hygiene items that I used when I would wash up and get ready for class. I would sleep in my car near the tower where the security guards were so they could watch over me while I slept. I had an alarm clock in the car with me to alert me to get up and get ready for class. I would walk to the Ladies Bathroom, wash-up, get dressed in my uniform, go get something to eat, and go to class. This was my routine for four years. I had no life! I was a mother with a young child to raise and my status was essential. Back in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where I was born and raised until eighteen, I worked in several essential jobs because earning money was considered essential.

As an Essential Worker my hourly rate of pay was at the mercy of my employer due to Mississippi not having a set standard federal, state or city minimum wage. I could be fired without cause with no recourse or redress because of the Jim Crow South laws and form of government. I realized early in my development that my rate of pay was connected to how submissive I was and how far I was willing to bend, sway, and play the racial inferior power game established by Jim Crow. It didn’t matter what the job was, the rules were the same and are still in place today. We have a new Jim Crow. This phenomenon is alive and well in our workforce today as it has been for the past 100 years. The difference today is the cycle is being repeated with our eyes wide open. Black and Brown Essential Workers / Low Wage Workers are suffering and dying because of the Covid-19 worldwide pandemic and the world is watching. I consider myself to be a new Essential Worker with a new title, Dr. Mary McBean.

Best Regards,

Dr. Mary E. (Mack) McBean

Mayoral Candidate