ABQ to start process of removing Cesar Chavez's name off buildings, street signs 

The city of Albuquerque will begin the process of removing Cesar Chavez’s name from street signs, murals and buildings, Mayor Tim Keller said Thursday.

The announcement came a day after allegations surfaced that the civil rights leader raped and sexually assaulted underage girls. His alleged victims included longtime farmworker activist Dolores Huerta, who issued a statement saying she experienced coerced and forced sexual encounters with Chavez that resulted in pregnancies in the 1960s.

The city, and the state as a whole, has numerous places named after Chavez.

A number of New Mexico leaders spoke out against Chavez on Wednesday, among them state House Speaker Javier Martínez, D-Albuquerque, who said, “Chávez’s name should be removed from any and all public entities, swiftly.” 

On Thursday, during a news conference on the opening of a new animal habitat at the ABQ BioPark, Keller announced City Councilor Joaquín Baca “has expressed his intent to change the name” of Avenida Cesar Chavez.

Keller said he will work with Baca but it will “take a little bit of time and council action to change that name.”

“I remember changing it to Dolores Huerta, one half of it, and I remember you have to notify every landowner and actually get some consent because, again, there are address changes (to make),” the mayor said.

Keller then discussed murals around town bearing images of Chavez.

“I want to let folks know that murals can be changed in different ways,” he said. “... It depends if it’s a public art mural. If it was funded by public arts … there is a process with which that can be changed that also involves talking with the artist. If it’s a private mural, typically the artist or the landowner can change it. But the city cannot because it is a private mural.”

The mayor did say the city will begin the process of removing Chavez’s name off of the community center building, which sits at 7505 Kathryn SE, east of Louisiana.

“But the next question is, ‘Well, what are you going to call it?’” Keller asked.

While he mentioned a couple of options, including naming it after Huerta or the International District Community Center, he said, “We’re going to work with (the) community and with city councilors on this and it’s going to be up to us as a community.”

City Council President Klarissa Peña is going to create a group consisting of Hispanic leaders and other councilors who will discuss “what direction to go,” he said.

The National Hispanic Cultural Center is going to host the meetings and “they’re going to sort of figure out, ‘Where do we go in an appropriate way,’” Keller said.

“And so that really is up to the community,” he said. “... It will be up to the community in terms of what’s best for Albuquerque and what’s best for New Mexico. And of course, we want it to reflect in some way the movement. Whether it’s the movement for labor rights, immigrant rights, or it’s the farmworkers … But where we go in those directions is really going to be up to the community.”

Gregory R.C. Hasman is a general assignment reporter and the Road Warrior. He can be reached at ghasman@abqjournal.com or 505-823-3820.