political career in Lake Elsinore, Yarborough negotiated with the local utilities – including phone, gas, and electricity providers – to expand hiring and training programs for local youths. Retirement and honors Yarborough retired in 1968 to focus on writing a book about healing the country's racial problems. When he retired, the Thomas R. Yarborough Park was named in his honor. During the dedication ceremony in May 1968, letters of commendation and telegrams were read from Vice President Hubert Humphrey, California Governor Ronald Reagan, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and many others. The San Francisco Examiner reported that the dedication ceremony emphasized Yarborough's plea "to the people of the USA to lay aside their prejudices and hate and join with the minorities to help establish freedom and first-class citizenship for all men regardless of race or color... in conformity with the constitution of this great Nation." Death and legacy Yarborough died in an automobile accident on Highway 71 in Riverside County on March 19, 1969. In 1990, a plaque honoring Thomas Yarborough was dedicated in Yarborough Park, donated by the Hilltop Community Center. Around the year 2000, the local NAACP chapter started hosting an annual Juneteenth celebration in Yarborough Park. See also List of first African-American mayors George Carroll (judge) Edward P. Duplex Notes References 1895 births 1969 deaths 20th-century African-American politicians 20th-century American politicians African-American mayors in California People from Dermott, Arkansas People from Lake Elsinore, California Mayors of places in California Road incident deaths in California