The City Council has voted to initiate the process to rename Long Beach-owned facilities currently bearing the name of late labor leader Cesar Chavez, whose legacy has been called into question after decades of sexual abuse allegations against him were revealed.
Following a New York Times investigation, which reveled allegations that Chavez had raped fellow labor leader Dolores Huerta, other women, and girls as young as 12 during the 1970s, government agencies, organizations and communities across Southern California began reckoning with the change to Chavez’s legacy.
Shortly after the news came to light, some government agencies took quick action to erase Chavez’s name from buildings, parks, schools and other facilities. California lawmakers passed a bill to rename Cesar Chavez Day, celebrated on March 31, on Thursday, March 19.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors followed that lead on Tuesday, March 24, renaming the upcoming holiday to Farmworkers Day — and approving a motion to initiate the process of removing Chavez’s name from county buildings and facilities the same day.
The Long Beach City Council approved a similar motion on Tuesday, which will kick off the city’s internal process through the Parks and Recreation Commission to rename Cesar Chavez Park, 401 Golden Ave.
A man walks his dog in Cesar Chavez Park in Long Beach on Wednesday, Mar. 18, 2026. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Cesar Chavez Elementary School in Long Beach on Wednesday, Mar. 18, 2026. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
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A man walks his dog in Cesar Chavez Park in Long Beach on Wednesday, Mar. 18, 2026. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach will also begin the process of renaming Cesar Chavez Day, and the motion asks the city manager’s office to work with the city’s educational institutions, including Long Beach Unified School District, Long Beach City College and Cal State Long Beach to similarly rename any of their facilities that bear Chavez’s name.
The item to initiate the renaming process was brought by Mayor Rex Richardson, First District Councilmember Mary Zendejas, Seventh District Councilmember Roberto Uranga and Ninth District Councilmember Joni Ricks-Oddie. The council approved it unanimously.
“When we first brought this forward, it was with a sad, sad heart,” Uranga said Tuesday. “But on the positive side, it’s also an opportunity for us to look at other individuals who are just as deserving of recognition in our city. With this process, I hope that you are patient, that you will be working with us, and move forward from this dark place that we’re at right now and into the light.”
Besides initiating the process to rename Chavez Park, the city will also conduct a comprehensive review of its assets, including parks, streets and other facilities to determine which are named after Chavez.
Following that process, Long Beach will embark on a community engagement campaign and conduct outreach to various Latino-serving organizations in the city to gather input on the renaming process, according to the Tuesday motion.
Members of several of those organizations, including Centro CHA, the League of United Latin American Citizens and the Long Beach Latino Democratic Club were present during Tuesday’s meeting and voiced their support for the change.
“Given that LBUSD, LBCC and CSULB collectively serve student populations that are over 50% Latino, and the city of Long Beach coming close to that, it is essential that our public facilities reflect names that also serve as learning opportunities, instilling pride and a sense of belonging in students who see names that sound like their own,” said Tonia Reyes-Uranga, a former Long Beach City Council member and current president of the LULAC Long Beach chapter.
LULAC, Reyes-Uranga said, hopes to assist in coordinating leaders from the Latino community to help in the renaming process, and the organization is planning to form a list of names that Chavez Park and other facilities could be renamed in honor of.
One suggestion offered by public commentators on Tuesday was the late Jenny Oropeza, the first Latina ever elected to the Long Beach City Council. She was also a member of the California Assembly and later served as a state Senator. Oropeza is widely regarded as a trailblazing politician, and her name currently adorns an elementary school in Long Beach, alongside the community center at Chavez Park.
But the decision on whom to rename Chavez Park after, alongside any other facilities currently bearing his name, will be made down the road after the city conducts its asset review and community outreach.
The city will also consider how to expand educational opportunities at its facilities named after notable figures, the memo said, including through signage, programming and exhibits that offer a more nuanced history of the namesake in question.
The Long Beach City College District Board of Trustees, meanwhile, has already taken similar action to remove any trace of Chavez’s influences from its campuses. The motion was co-authored by board President Uduak-Joe Ntuk and Vivian Malauulu.
During the board’s March 18 meeting, members approved a resolution to pause all programming related to Cesar Chavez on its two campuses. The college, LBCC Superintendent-President Mike Muñoz said during the meeting, does not currently have any buildings or facilities named after Chavez.
The college, though, has celebrated March 31 in the past with resources fairs, workers’ rights workshops, other educational events and a Cesar Chavez Day of Service.
“I think we still will be moving forward with the day of service, but we will not be connecting it to him himself at this point,” Muñoz said. “That’s just some early information, but we can do a further analysis and provide information back.”
The college’s analysis will include a review to determine if buildings, classrooms, scholarships or other programs and facilities bear Chavez’s name. The motion will also initiate a process to rename or establish a new designation to honor Dolores Huerta, farmworkers and organized labor within 90 days.
“Dolores Huerta is an icon, labor leader, and survivor,” Ntuk wrote on social media after the meeting. “I’m calling on our college to officially rename the LBCC Labor Center in honor of Dolores Huerta and look forward to working with my colleagues and President Muñoz to make this a reality as soon as possible.”