The Cesar E. Chavez Business Improvement District 38 will be temporarily renamed to remove Chavez’s name following allegations of sexual abuse against the late labor leader.
A Business Improvement District is an organization funded by local business owners to help enhance commercial areas.
Following a New York Times investigation that uncovered allegations of Chavez’s grooming and sexual abuse of several people – including girls as young as 13 – the Business Improvement District members unanimously voted to temporarily rename their organization the South 16th Street BID.
Moving forward, the Improvement District also will remove, cover, or update existing branding, including street signage, that bears Chavez’s name as it makes the transition to its temporary name, according to Sinai Mendoza-Zarate, the Improvement District’s executive director.
Mendoza-Zarate said the Improvement District will establish a community-led committee of residents, business owners and cultural leaders to help come up with a name that reflects the identity and values of those who live in the neighborhood.
“It’s really important that community engagement is a part of this. It’s a part of that process of sitting with the discomfort of what is going on,” Mendoza-Zarate said. “Rather than trying to brush it under the rug, people really get educated about this topic … taking it as an opportunity for learning amongst Latinx communities.”
In addition to distributing surveys and doing social media outreach, the members the of Improvement District have proposed hosting four community gatherings to educate neighbors on why the name change is taking place, and coordinate activities where they provide suggestions for a new name, Mendoza-Zarate said.
Though the timeline for the renaming is not set, members hope to present it sometime in September, Mendoza-Zarate said.
During the Improvement District’s board meeting on Friday, March 27, board member Kevin Kuschel stressed the importance of working with neighbors to develop a new name that will help uplift community pride.
“The goal would be to get all the concerns out, all the pain, all the disappointment, all the betrayal, and then give us a focus on how we want to honor our heritage and what we want representing us,” Kuschel said.
Alyssa Salcedo covers Silver City, Layton Park and Burnham Park for the Journal Sentinel’s Neighborhood Dispatch. Contact: asalcedo@usatodayco.com.
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