SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio residents shared their opinions on Wednesday on whether César E. Chávez Boulevard should be renamed.
This was one of two community listening sessions being held this week. The City of San Antonio said this feedback, in addition to a recent survey, will be used by the city council to determine what happens next.
Conversations about renaming César E. Chávez Boulevard come after recent allegations that the labor unionist sexually abused girls and the co-founder of the United Farm Workers of America union, Dolores Huerta, decades ago.
KSAT first reported the citywide survey results on Tuesday regarding this discussion. According to the city news release, more than 18,000 people participated in the survey from all city districts.
Sixty-four percent of survey respondents supported returning the street name to Durango Boulevard. Additionally, a city spokesperson said 79% of respondents who live on César E. Chávez Boulevard would also like to see the street reverted back to Durango Boulevard.
Thirty-six percent of people suggested multiple alternative names for the street, the city said, including the following:
- Farmworker Movement/civil rights leaders (example: Dolores Huerta)
- Spurs/sports-themed names (example: Spurs Boulevard)
- Keep current name/no change
- Other public figures (example: Selena Quintanilla)
- Non-serious/pop-culture responses
Ernest Martinez, whose father founded the Cesar E. Chavez Legacy Educational Foundation, attended Wednesday’s meeting. After the allegations, KSAT reported that the foundation dissolved, but Martinez said the community should be at the center of this conversation.
“I am leaning towards a farm worker-related naming,” Martinez said. “Why not uplift farm workers who ultimately bring that food to our table?”
Jesus Ramirez said she worries about the unexpected costs of renaming the street.
“Not everybody can get up and go and get in line and have all their paperwork changed,” Ramirez said. “Everyone on that street is going to have to.”
The next listening session will be held on Saturday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Tony G’s Soul Food, 915 S. Hackberry St.
After all of this feedback is collected, the city said the council will analyze and debrief.
The city said a council member will then have to file a formal renaming request to start this process. Then it could take several months before the name is officially changed.
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