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Portland leaders are talking about renaming César E. Chávez Boulevard in view of allegations that the civil rights and labor leader abused multiple women and young girls throughout his career.
City Councilor Candace Avalos wrote on social media Wednesday morning that she had begun inquiring into the process of renaming 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 Chávez.
She was also among Chávez’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 Chávez raped or molested them.
A spokesperson for Mayor Keith Wilson told OPB on 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.
Chávez 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E. Chávez Boulevard Committee, which advocated for the name change, told The Oregonian that while the committee is no longer active, former members have been discussing the news with each other.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 it and have not come to a consensus whether the street should be renamed.
Portland Public Schools also has a K-8 school in North Portland named for Chávez.
A PPS spokesperson tells WW the district is “processing the recent news” and has a school renaming process that includes community engagement and a vote by the Portland School Board.
School Board member Rashelle Chase-Miller tells WW she supports 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 farmworkers 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. Chávez’s actions are against everything we stand for.”
The statement also says the organization would not be participating in any César Chávez Day events. César Chávez Day is typically celebrated March 31; celebrations elsewhere in the country have been delayed, renamed or canceled. A spokesman for PCUN, contacted on Wednesday evening, said he wasn’t sure what events were still planned for the Portland area.
