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Portland leaders are talking about renaming César E. Chavez Boulevard in view of allegations that the civil rights and labor leader abused multiple women and young girls throughout his career as a labor leader.
City Councilor Candace Avalos wrote on social media Wednesday morning that she had begun inquiring into the process of renaming the César E. Chavez Boulevard to Dolores Huerta Boulevard, in honor of the labor leader and feminist activist who co-founded the United Farm Workers union with Chavez.
She was also among Chavez’s victims, according to a New York Times investigation published early Wednesday, in her case bearing two of his children that resulted from sexual assaults by the labor leader. Other victims named in the story say they were as young as 12 at the time Chavez raped or molested them.
A spokesperson for Mayor Keith Wilson told OPB Wednesday morning that the mayor was not yet aware of the Times’ story, but was open to a “community conversation” about the street’s name.
According to city code, the process of renaming a street in Portland begins with a petition: Petitioners must gather 2,500 signatures from residents of the city at large, or signatures of at least 75% of abutting property owners along the street proposed for renaming.
City code also requires that city streets be named after a prominent person who has been dead at least five years. Huerta, according to that criterion, would not be eligible.
Chavez died in 1993; the Portland City Council renamed 39th Avenue in his honor in 2009 after a unanimous vote. Marta Guembes, part of the César E. Chávez Boulevard Committee, which advocated for the name change, told The Oregonian that, while the committee is no longer active, former members have been discussing the news with each other. They are still processing the news and have not yet come to an answer about whether they think the street should be renamed.
Portland Public Schools also has a K-8 school in North Portland named for Chavez.
A PPS spokesperson told WW the district is “processing the recent news,” and has a school renaming process that includes community engagement and a vote of the board.
School Board member Rashelle Chase-Miller told WW she supports the idea of renaming the school, and likes the idea of naming it in Huerta’s honor, but it’s up to the school community to come up with a suggestion.
“Schools should be named after people our kids can look up to and feel pride in,” Chase-Miller says.
Reyna Lopez, executive director of PCUN, Oregon’s largest farmworker union, issued a statement Wednesday saying the revelations in the Times story were “profoundly shocking findings.”
“Our labor union was founded to end the exploitation of farm workers, immigrants and Latinx community members. Chavez’s actions are against everything we stand for.”
The statement also says the organization would not be participating in any César Chavez Day events. César Chavez Day is typically celebrated March 31; celebrations elsewhere in the country have been delayed, renamed or canceled. A spokesperson for PCUN, contacted on Wednesday evening, said he wasn’t sure what events are still planned for the Portland area at this point.
