Nearly 30 years ago, community members in Santa Barbara fought to rename a portion of Salsipuedes Street to Calle César Chávez.
Activists convinced the Santa Barbara City Council to change the street’s name, and the community held a public ceremony celebrating the renaming on Sept. 13, 1997, days before Mexican Independence Day.
But now, the momentum is moving in a different direction. Following allegations of sexual abuse by Chavez, Santa Barbara City Councilman Oscar Gutierrez has called on the city to change the name back to Salsipuedes Street and plans to hold meetings soon to get the process rolling.
“This is not the guy who I was raised to believe he was,” Gutierrez said. “Just make it all one street again, as it was. Just move on from this dark chapter.”
Activist and civil rights leader Dolores Huerta said on Instagram that she was sexually assaulted on two occasions by Chavez. The encounters, she said, also produced two children. The New York Times published a story Wednesday detailing the accounts of two other women who said they were sexually assaulted by Chavez when they were girls in the 1970s.
The explosive allegations have been met with disgust and calls to strip Chavez’s name from any public property.
“When survivors speak up, we must listen and act,” said Assemblymember Gregg Hart of the 37th District. “From California’s agricultural fields to the White House, predatory behavior cannot be overlooked. The movements for farmworker and immigrant rights have never been about one person. At this juncture, we must continue to champion the hard-fought victories of these movements while holding accountable those who have abused trust.”
Hart said he believes and supports Chavez’s accusers.
“We will work with haste and intentionality to make sure that California’s values are reflected in our telling of history, celebration of public holidays, and enactment of policies,” Hart said.
Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, said he is “deeply shocked and saddened to learn of these disturbing allegations.”
Carbajal said he met Chavez twice, once while he was a student and another time during a march in Delano.
“I believe we cannot celebrate a man, regardless of his accomplishments, if he harmed women and children in such evil ways,” Carbajal said. “This March 31, I urge our community to unite around celebrating the contributions and essential work of farmworkers, rather than celebrating César Chávez. In addition, we must continue to move forward in our shared opposition to ICE’s violations of civil rights and demand an end to their brutal immigration enforcement.”
Former Santa Barbara Mayor Marty Blum was on the City Council when the city renamed Salsipuedes Street. She recalled there was controversy at the time, but not related to Chavez. Some businesses were concerned they would have to change their mailing addresses and other branded material if the name of the street changed.
A majority of the council eventually supported the change, though.
“We researched him, but this did not come up,” Blum said. “Had it come up, we would have done more research.”
Blum said the city should change back the name of the street.
“I wouldn’t want (a) Jeffery Epstein Street,” Blum said. “It wouldn’t work.”
Gutierrez said the whole situation is disturbing.
“It is heartbreaking to know that somebody who was a symbol of being a Chicano leader, an activist and role model is now being revealed as being a criminal,” he said.
But, he said, the farmworker movement was never about one person.
“I am not going to associate the cause with that person anymore because they don’t deserve it,” Gutierrez said.
