Bay Area communities move toward removing Cesar Chavez's name from landmarks
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- One week out from the sexual abuse allegations against Cesar Chavez, communities across the Bay Area are moving swiftly to put his legacy to rest, starting the process of removing his name from landmarks.
"We know that there are the kind of large-scale assets like the Plaza, but there's also schools, there's libraries, there's things that are in the city's ownership, and also things owned by other public agencies," said San Jose Councilmember Anthony Tordillo.
On Wednesday in San Jose, the city's Rules Committee voted unanimously to move ahead with identifying all of these locations.
MORE: Bay Area artists move to erase and rethink Cesar Chavez's legacy
"And then the second part is coming forward with a community-oriented process for how the community can provide input on which assets need to be renamed and what the process should be. And what new names for these assets should be," Tordillo said.
In Berkeley, the city council voted this week to rename Cesar Chavez Park, signs will soon come down, and the process of renaming will begin also with public feedback.
Schools across the Bay are also making changes. On Wednesday, the West Contra Costa Unified School District voted to drop Cesar Chavez Day, instead declaring March 31st to now be Farmworkers Day; a nod to the wide range of people who contributed to the movement, including the Filipino community.
MORE: California lawmakers say they'll change name of Cesar Chavez Day to Farmworkers Day
The Filipino American National Historical Society has long been fighting for its place in labor movement history and in 2021, established Delano Manongs Park in San Jose.
"It was a joint collective in starting the movement. Not just one name," said trustee Ann Reginio. "We wanted to include everyone in our community, that's why it's Delano Manongs. If we're thinking about the future, I think we were one step ahead. Let's not name it after one person in case something like this happens."
San Jose says it's moving quickly to compile a list of all that will be renamed and is aiming to have the process in place for public input within the coming weeks.
