{"id":236491,"date":"2026-03-25T22:18:37","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T22:18:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/236491\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T22:18:37","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T22:18:37","slug":"berkeley-to-rename-cesar-chavez-park-cover-signs-honoring-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/236491\/","title":{"rendered":"Berkeley to rename Cesar Chavez Park, cover signs honoring him"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Berkeley named its 90-acre waterfront park after Cesar Chavez in the 1990s. Credit: Tracey Taylor\/Berkeleyside<\/p>\n

Update, March 25: The city of Berkeley will soon cover or remove signs mentioning Cesar Chavez at the park named in his honor, and launch a process to pick a new name for the waterfront open space.<\/p>\n

The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to adopt a proposal from West Berkeley Councilmember Rashi Kesarwani to remove Chavez\u2019s name from the park immediately. Kesarwani initially suggested the city rename the park after United Farm Workers Association co-founder Dolores Huerta, but changed her proposal to instead launch a public process so that Berkeley can \u201carrive at a new name as a community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mayor Adena Ishii indicated she will continue to pursue another proposal at the council\u2019s April 14 meeting to rename two features within the park, as well as the city holiday that honors Chavez.<\/p>\n

Original story, March 24: Berkeley could soon remove 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

Meanwhile Councilmember Rashi Kesarwani, whose district includes Cesar Chavez Park, introduced her own item for Tuesday\u2019s council meeting to rename the park for United Farm Workers Association co-founder Dolores Huerta, and direct city officials to \u201cremove all signage bearing the name Cesar Chavez from park property as soon as practicable.\u201d <\/p>\n

UC Berkeley, which named a student center at the heart of campus after Chavez, has launched a similar process<\/a>, and is taking public comments for at least the next two weeks on whether to strip his name from the facility. Chancellor Richard Lyons wrote in a message<\/a> to the campus Thursday that Cal is also 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 Huerta. Calls began immediately to remove monuments honoring Chavez and rename 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 the 1990s, 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

Kesarwani\u2019s proposal, which she introduced as an \u201curgent item\u201d shortly before Tuesday\u2019s meeting, calls for immediately renaming the park after Huerta.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be a fitting tribute to her life and accomplishments to name the park after her to honor both her work and her survivorship,\u201d Kesarwani wrote. \u201cThis naming would send a powerful signal to survivors in Berkeley that they are seen and valued while also maintaining the original intent to honor farmworkers and laborers in the state and beyond.\u201d<\/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 for a 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

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\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

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\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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