César Chávez Avenue needs a name change, organizers say

In Los Angeles, following the sexual assault allegations against César Chávez during his time as president of the United Farm Workers Union (UFW), local organizers and community members have begun to demand an immediate renaming of César Chávez Avenue, a street that runs through Downtown L.A., Boyle Heights and Monterey Park.

Numerous petitions such as one started by California Rising, a nonprofit organization founded in 2016, have begun circulating online, calling on the city and county officials to take action that could expedite the process of renaming buildings and streets named after Chávez. 

“Cesar Chávez Avenue needs to be replaced by Dolores Huerta Avenue,” Raul Claros, founder of California Rising, said in a press conference held on Wednesday. “Movements are not about moments or individuals.”

Claros said that as soon as he arrived home that afternoon he was going to explain to his 10-year-old girl about the reasons behind not wanting to have Chávez's name plastered throughout the city they live in, a conversation he said many other parents will also be having in various corners of the U.S. 

“We know in the Latino community, a lot of this abuse has been tolerated for generations,” Claros said. “In our culture, we're told to stay quiet, but that stops now. This is the moment that creates a new movement, and that movement means we have to get César Chávez's name off this street and get Dolores Huerta's name up there," he said.

The avenue, which extends for about six miles, was renamed in 1994 from Brooklyn Avenue to Cesar Chavez Avenue to honor the labor leader, who has been accused of sexually abusing two girls in the 1970s, as well as Dolores Huerta, with whom he co-founded the UFW, according to an investigation published by the New York Times.

César Chávez Avenue is a well-known and popular commercial and cultural corridor in L.A., something that, for many people, is being clouded by Chávez’s sexual assault allegations and his anti-immigration sentiments. 

The avenue runs primarily through L.A. City Council District 14, represented by Ysabel Jurado, who was sworn into her position in 2024 by Huerta. 

A spokesperson from Jurado's office told CALÒ News the councilwoman is in full support of renaming the avenue and any other facility or entity in the city that is named after Chávez. 

Jurado’s office also said that she, along with other L.A. City Council members, have already begun conversations on a possible motion to facilitate the process of renaming city buildings, schools or streets. 

“I am calling for the renaming of all public locations and events that bear [Chávez's] name, as we prioritize accountability and stand with those who have been harmed,” Jurado said in a statement. 

The city council is on recess until next Tuesday, March 24. 

In the city of L.A., changing a street name falls deeply to the city’s council. The process requires filing a petition with the L.A. Bureau of Engineering, listing the reasons for the change. That application is then reviewed by the Street Naming Committee and other public hearings, with final approval is left to the city council.

The proposed name of any street should avoid duplication and confusion, and it often also honors historical or community figures. 

Jurado's office said more than anything, they want the process of renaming the street to involve community leaders and residents who live along the avenue and its surrounding neighborhoods. 

On social media, many have suggested that the avenue be named after Huerta, who this week shared she was sexually abused and raped by Chávez in two separate encounters where she said she was “manipulated and pressured” and “forced against my will.”

Huerta said she was silent for over 60 years out of concern that her words would hurt the farmworker movement.

Other people have suggested for the original name, Brooklyn Avenue, be brought back. 

Brooklyn Avenue, named in 1876, honored the large concentrations of Mexican, Japanese, Armenian, Italian, Russian, and African-American residents of that area during those years. 

On Thursday, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass signed a proclamation renaming the city's Césár Chavez Day holiday to "Farmworkers Day,” a city-recognized holiday celebrated on the last Monday of March. 

In a press conference where she announced the proclamation, Bass said she had been in contact with Chávez's family, who were in support of the move.

"The last 48 hours have been very painful, very difficult. César Chávez, I had the honor of meeting once and I thought it was the opportunity of a lifetime,” Bass said. “The fight of the farmworkers, their struggle and their victories inspired all of us.”