It’s right to honor the legacy of Cesar Chavez. Fresno has a way to do just that | Opinion
It is only fitting that Fresno, the key city in one of the world’s top farming regions, would consider honoring Cesar Chavez, the activist labor leader who stood for the dignity of field workers.
The Fresno City Council is looking to do just that by renaming a 10.25-mile stretch of streets through the city to pay respect to Chavez. The proposal: To rename the city’s portions of Kings Canyon Road, Ventura Street and California Avenue to Avenida Cesar Chavez.
The current council did not originate the road-renaming concept. It actually was the brainchild of the 1993 City Council, following Chavez’s death in April of that year.
When the issue came up following Chavez’s passing, council meetings were contentious. On Oct. 12 of that year, the council approved the naming on a 4-3 vote. But council member Robert C. Smith then reversed his vote in a second meeting and the renaming process halted. A crowd of 1,400 mostly Chavez backers got upset and some promised a recall of council members.
The opposition to renaming this time around has been more muted. But certain points of opposition from that earlier attempt are similar to what opponents are saying now.
A group of property owners along Kings Canyon Road want to keep the name as a way to commemorate east Fresno’s proximity to Kings Canyon National Park. Another Kings Canyon Road advocate, Karen Musson of the farming supply and services company Gar Bennett, said in a letter to the council that the Kings Canyon corridor was home to many of Fresno’s earliest farming families.
Small business owners, such as Richard Ashodian of the Sunnyside Sinclair service station, are worried about the costs involved with changing stationary, checks and business licenses to reflect a new address name.
Perhaps the most heartfelt opposition has been voiced by the Rev. B.T. Lewis of Rising Star Missionary Baptist Church. His stance deals with the stretch of California Avenue that is to be renamed.
Lewis said that scores of Black families in west Fresno have used California Avenue for decades to deliver their children to Edison High School. The roadway is a main thoroughfare in that part of town, and is built into the fabric of west Fresno, Lewis said, and should remain as it is. To do otherwise is an affront to the city’s Black community, he said, which predominately lives in west Fresno neighborhoods.
He advocates for the council to pick a new road in yet-to-be-built development to carry the Chavez name.
Defending the process
Councilman Miguel Arias, who has Ventura Street and California Avenue in his district, said the issue is coming up now because some of the proponents from 1993 are now elderly and hope to see the renaming occur before they die.
He disagrees with Lewis that there has not been enough public outreach on the latest renaming. The city has followed the same process as it did when part of M Street was renamed Audra McDonald Way to honor the Fresno native and Broadway star, Arias said. McDonald, who is Black, is an acclaimed actress and singer.
Arias said the names of several Black leaders already exist in west Fresno, such as Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Maxie L. Parks Community Center. Parks was a gold medalist in track in the 1976 Olympics.
The city is also allocating $1 million to help businesses with the costs of creating new signs, letterhead and the like.
It is time for Fresno to honor
Chavez was a polarizing figure in America, particularly in agricultural communities, because his United Farm Workers union was dedicated to organizing farm workers, raising their wages and improving their working conditions. The UFW website states that “UFW contract agreements protect thousands of vegetable, berry, winery, tomato, and dairy workers in California, Oregon, and Washington state. “
Chavez and other key figures in the labor movement formed the United Farm Workers union, which originated in the San Joaquin Valley, to improve the working conditions of field laborers.
He became a symbol of pride for Latinos and is today regarded as one of America’s champions of civil rights.
In 2014 President Obama established March 31 as a commemorative day to honor the civil rights leader. Cesar Chavez Day is recognized in six states and two Arizona cities. It is past time that Fresno, in its own way, creates a memorial. Renaming some streets to Avenida Cesar Chavez is a good way to do just that.
