The Board of Port Commissioners on Wednesday voted to rename Cesar E. Chavez Park in Barrio Logan to Chicano Park on the Bay.
The renaming reflects a national trend of removing the name of the late labor leader from buildings and landmarks. A New York Times investigation earlier this year detailed allegations that Cesar Chavez sexually abused women and girls for years.
Josephine Talamantez, founder and board chair of the Chicano Park Museum and Cultural Center, said it’s not the first time the name Chicano Park on the Bay was discussed.
Talamantez is also a founder of Chicano Park, a National Historic Landmark, that is located a few blocks inland from the newly renamed park.
Talamantez said community members in the 1980s initially wanted to name the waterside park Chicano Park on the Bay to connect it with the larger Chicano civil rights movement, but it was ultimately named in Chavez’s honor.
“When it became that name, we just thought, ‘Okay, there’s no way to change this,’” Talamantez said.
They did not want to undermine the farm workers’ movement or thwart the recognition for Chavez, she explained.
Talamantez applauded the revival of Chicano Park on the Bay, decades after its initial proposal.
“It’s a validation that finally somebody is listening to what this community has to say,” Talamantez said.
The park is just the latest example of scrubbing Chavez’s name from landmarks in San Diego. Earlier this year, the city renamed Cesar E. Chavez Parkway to Chicano Park Boulevard. The San Diego College of Continuing Education also removed Chavez’s name from its Barrio Logan campus. It’s currently hosting meetings to gather feedback for a new campus name.
Despite her support for renaming the park, Talamantez worries about the broader implications of erasing Chavez’s legacy.
“I stand with the women who have made the allegations, but I do think there needs to be a process, not just wiping everything out,” Talamantez said. “The history, in particular, is significant to our community.”
Chavez, she added, “really fought for farm workers and Chicano civil rights.”
Still, Talamantez and other community members spoke in favor of renaming the park during public comment at Wednesday’s meeting.
Port district staff hosted public engagement sessions between May and July to gather name ideas. They also met with a community advisory committee, which included Talamantez, in August. The commissioners thanked the people who participated in the engagement sessions and spoke at the meeting on Wednesday.
“I’ve sat here a long time and rarely have I seen this level of unanimity for the name of a park, or anything, for that matter,” said Port Commissioner Dan Malcolm. “I mean, the community has spoken loud and clear.”
Talamantez hopes the next generation will continue to learn the history in Barrio Logan and be part of its story.
