{"id":234770,"date":"2026-03-24T22:29:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T22:29:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/234770\/"},"modified":"2026-03-24T22:29:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T22:29:11","slug":"berkeley-leaders-move-to-rename-cesar-chavez-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/234770\/","title":{"rendered":"Berkeley leaders move to rename Cesar Chavez Park"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Berkeley named its 90-acre waterfront park after Cesar Chavez in 1996. Credit: Phil Rowntree<\/p>\n

Berkeley could take a first step next month toward removing Cesar Chavez\u2019s name from the city park and holiday that honor him, in the wake of a report last week<\/a> that the revered labor leader sexually assaulted women and girls.<\/p>\n

Mayor Adena Ishii said Tuesday that she plans to introduce an item at the City Council\u2019s April 14 meeting directing Berkeley staff and the Parks Commission to develop a plan to rename all city events, locations and holidays that are named for Chavez. Ishii\u2019s proposal<\/a> asks that staff and the commission return to the council with recommendations for new names \u201cthat will continue to honor the legacy of labor organizing and solidarity for farm workers, and recognize farm workers as the backbone of America.\u201d<\/p>\n

UC Berkeley, which named a student center at the heart of campus after Chavez, has launched a similar process. Chancellor Richard Lyons wrote in a message<\/a> to the campus Thursday that Cal \u201cwill be initiating a formal review of the Cesar Chavez Student Center name\u201d and is considering proposals for renaming the center.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Officials in Berkeley and across California, where Chavez was an iconic figure for his campaigns to improve pay and working conditions for farm workers, have faced a reckoning since The New York Times reported<\/a> allegations that he sexually abused girls as young as 12, and raped United Farm Workers Association co-founder Dolores Huerta. Calls began immediately to remove monuments honoring Chavez and strip his name from countless public facilities throughout the state.<\/p>\n

\"\"The\u00a0solar calendar installation at C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez Park\u00a0in Berkeley is a \u201ctribute site\u201d to the activist. Photo: Chris Benton<\/p>\n

Berkeley named its 90-acre waterfront park after Chavez in 1996, and has commemorated Cesar Chavez Day since 2000. The park contains a memorial installation honoring Chavez<\/a>, as well as a perimeter path<\/a> that bears his name. The city has also observed a \u201cCesar Chavez-Dolores Huerta Commemorative Period,\u201d<\/a> which runs from the spring equinox through Huerta\u2019s birthday on April 10.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The day after the Times article was published, state lawmakers announced they plan to change California\u2019s Cesar Chavez holiday<\/a>, held on his birthday, March 31, to \u201cFarmworkers Day.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ishii\u2019s proposal, which is co-sponsored by council members Cecilia Lunaparra, Mark Humbert and Shoshana O\u2019Keefe, asks the city to work with local community organizations in the renaming process.<\/p>\n

\u201cI look forward to beginning a new chapter that reflects our community\u2019s values and continues to bring pride and joy to all,\u201d Ishii wrote in a statement Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Melissa Male, a spokesperson for Ishii, said there was not an estimate for how long the process to rename the facilities and holiday might take.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The leadership of the memorial inside Cesar Chavez Park, a solar calendar known as a \u201ctribute site,\u201d wrote in a statement<\/a> Saturday that they are \u201cappalled\u201d by the allegations and unsure of how they will move forward with the project.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do know that we have focused our efforts on the specific virtues of the United Farm Workers movement: hope, determination, courage, and tolerance\/non-violence,\u201d wrote project founder Santiago Casal, education director Beatriz Leyva-Cutler and Lupe Gallegos-Diaz, co-chair of the community organizing group Latinos Unidos Berkeley. \u201cWe expect to continue to honor those virtues along with honoring Dolores Huerta.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tRelated stories<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Berkeley\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tBerkeley lionized Cesar Chavez. Now it\u2019s reevaluating<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tMarch 18, 2026March 19, 2026, 2:41 p.m.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Digging\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tDigging to stay banned at Berkeley park as new radiation testing brings cause for worry underground<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tNovember 24, 2025Nov. 25, 2025, 11:44 a.m.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"LeConte\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tLeConte Elementary renamed for Sylvia Mendez, desegregation pioneer<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tMay 24, 2018Aug. 4, 2022, 1:25 p.m.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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