The Milwaukee Common Council has voted to rename Cesar Chavez Drive following rape allegations made against the late labor leader. It will again be known as South 16th Street.
The Milwaukee Common Council voted Tuesday to strip the name of labor activist Cesar Chavez from a south side street, just weeks after explosive allegations of rape and sexual abuse against the late icon surfaced in a New York Times investigation.
In a 13-0 vote with one alderman excused and another abstaining, the council approved renaming South Cesar E. Chavez Drive back to South 16th Street between West Mitchell and West Pierce streets. The move reflects growing unease over honoring a figure now accused of preying on young girls and women in his own movement.
The allegations, first detailed March 18 by the Times, include claims that Chavez groomed and repeatedly sexually abused two daughters of United Farm Workers organizers when they were as young as 12 and 13 years old in the 1970s. Co-founder Dolores Huerta, long revered alongside Chavez, also alleged he raped her, resulting in two pregnancies she concealed to protect the union’s reputation.
Critics have long warned that left-wing iconography often shields flawed or predatory figures from scrutiny. The swift action in Milwaukee stands in contrast to the years of unchallenged veneration of Chavez, whose birthday remains a state holiday in California despite the disturbing revelations.
Common Council President Jose Perez, a sponsor of the renaming ordinance, pushed the measure forward after a public works committee approved it earlier this month. Ald. JoCasta Zamarripa, who initially co-sponsored but later had her name removed and abstained, had been among the first to voice concerns after the allegations broke. Ald. Marina Dimitrijevic was excused from the vote.
Council members signaled the change to South 16th Street is likely temporary, and council members plan to meet with members of the Business Improvement District to discuss a permanent name for the street.
