Fri, May 1, 2026 at 9:48 PM UTC
Street signs in Fresno that once proudly honored Civil Rights activist Cesar Chavez began to be taken down Friday as part of an extensive removal process along a 10-mile stretch of roads.
City leaders elected to remove the Cesar Chavez name and have the three combined streets reverted to their original names less than two years ago after they were changed to celebrate Chavez.
The change back of roughly 200 street signs is part of the aftermath from a New York Times investigation in March that reported Chavez allegedly groomed and abused children and raped women.
Among Chavez’s victims was fellow Civil Rights icon Dolores Huerta, who broke decades of silence and confirmed such abuse.
The street sign changes coincide with the Fresno County Board of Supervisors’ vote to rename Cesar Chavez Day as Fresno County Farmworker and Agriculture Appreciation Day.
Chavez died at 66 in 1993.
The project to revert the street signs to California Avenue, Ventura Street and Kings Canyon Road was expected to be completed next week.
City of Fresno crews begin taking down the Cesar Chavez Boulevard street signs replacing with Ventura Street signs Friday morning, May 1, 2026 in Fresno.
(ERIC PAUL ZAMORA/ezamora@fresnobee.com)
City of Fresno crews begin taking down the Cesar Chavez Blvd. signs replacing with Ventura Street signs Friday morning, May 1, 2026 in Fresno.
(ERIC PAUL ZAMORA/ezamora@fresnobee.com)
A Ventura Street sign has replaced the Cesar Chavez Blvd. Friday morning, May 1, 2026 in Fresno.
(ERIC PAUL ZAMORA/ezamora@fresnobee.com)
City of Fresno crews begin taking down the Cesar Chavez street signs, replacing with Ventura Street signs Friday morning, May 1, 2026 in Fresno.
(ERIC PAUL ZAMORA/ezamora@fresnobee.com)