As Austin leaders continue working toward renaming Cesar Chavez Street after the labor leader was accused of sexual assault, some residents are trying to preserve the legacy of a man they revered for decades.
In a matter of weeks after the allegations were published by the New York Times, Chavez's name and face were erased from public spaces across the country. Parades and celebrations in his name were canceled. Murals were painted over. But not everyone supports those swift actions — and it often comes down to a generational divide.
Austin City Council Member Vanessa Fuentes said removing Chavez's name isn't an easy decision but a necessary one.
"I believe that we need to act quickly in acknowledging what happened there," Fuentes said.
For decades, Cesar Chavez mobilized people across the country to advocate on behalf of farmworkers, migrant workers and working-class Latinos. He cofounded the United Farm Workers labor union alongside Dolores Huerta, who is one of the women who made public allegations against Chavez.
East Austin native Bertha Rendon Ortiz's grandparents and parents were labor organizers, and the family idolized Chavez and his work.
"He was brave enough to go and do things that in that time the Mexican culture had no voice, had limited rights," Rendon Ortiz said. "They were in poverty. They didn't even have resources. And so he helped create and shape that."
But the New York Times investigation cast a dark shadow over his legacy and the farmworker movement. Multiple women said Chavez sexually abused them when they were young girls.
Feeling unsure
Rendon Ortiz said she doesn't want local leaders to erase Chavez's legacy.
Farmworkers and other working-class Latinos earn higher wages and have access to better working conditions, she said because of the work he did.
She said that work isn't done and the social justice movement Chavez helped cultivate needs to remain the focus.
"I feel like a wrench was thrown into our Mexican population to be confused to fight, and to not believe in what our people stood for — the movement," Rendon Ortiz said.
Rendon Ortiz said this also comes at a time when many Latinos feel like political targets, as the Trump administration continues its immigration enforcement.
Susana Almanza, executive director of the Austin nonprofit PODER, said many Latinos aren't sure what to believe anymore.
"People were even saying is this fake news? Is this really real?" Almanza said. "People had to do a lot of searches to find out to make sure there wasn't somebody trying to start another incident in the Latino community."
But even as people had time to learn and digest the news, it still isn't an easy thing to grasp, Almanza said.
"It's very hard when you have generations of people that have worked with and seen the work he's done," she said. "And then all of a sudden this stuff comes to light."
A historical figure
Emilio Zamora, a professor who specializes in Mexican American history at the University of Texas at Austin, said it's no surprise the community has had complicated emotions.
"Chavez was an extraordinary leader and a significant historical figure in the historical experience of Mexican people," Zamora said. "No one can deny that."
He said because the Mexican American community has been historically marginalized, the people who are chosen to lead it — like Chavez — become even more important.
"Cesar Chavez was often raised by the media and members of the Mexican American community as being God-like, Gandhi-like," Zamora said. "He was just singular and unmatched in his courage and commitment."
But Zamora said Chavez should be held accountable.
"Though someone like Chavez organically came out of this movement — his people favored him and he assumed the leadership position — he still is responsible for his comportment," Zamora said.
Attorney Jim Harrington founded the Texas Civil Rights Project and worked with Chavez to represent the United Farm Workers in Texas for 18 years. Harrington said this is the price of placing people on a pedestal.
"I think it's always a danger to us generally when we create iconic figures because everybody is flawed," Harrington said. "And some people of course are more flawed than others."
The focus, though, should not be on Chavez, he said, but on keeping the labor movement alive.
"I don't want this to diminish the respect that we should have for that struggle," Harrington said. "And I think that we need to keep honoring that and honoring the people that are in it."
Moving forward
Changing the street name would require new street signs and other address changes that would come at a cost to the city as well as residents and businesses along the roadway.
The city plans to hold a series of public meetings and other public engagement sessions to hear from people before any changes are finalized.
The council is expected to talk about next steps at a meeting later this month.
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