The Portland City Council will consider an ordinance Tuesday, May 26, to rename Northeast and Southeast César E. Chávez Boulevard to Campesinos Boulevard.
The renaming effort, introduced by Councilor Loretta Smith, comes in light of a New York Times investigation published in March that found Chávez, a co-founder of the United Farm Workers union, had sexually abused multiple young girls and women throughout his career. A number of prominent locations in the city carry his name, including the street and a K-8 school in Portland Public Schools.
If passed, the effort would rename the boulevard within Portland’s city limits after farmworkers, otherwise known as campesinos. The ordinance states the City Council thinks it prudent to rename César E. Chávez Boulevard to continue honoring labor rather than erasing it altogether in light of the allegations…