Sahan Journal16%
West Side residents brainstorm new names for César Chávez Street after abuse allegations 9%
By Sara Hussein0%
7/17/2026, 10:26:26 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 16 faulty reasoning types, including Negativity Bias, Post Hoc (False Cause), and Biased Writer Voice, with Optimism Bias as the most egregious example at 9.6% saturation with 73 hits. Analysis detected 494 faulty-reasoning hits from 762 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 25.7% and a BS Rank of 9% (15,857 of 17,282 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 91.80% of the article peer group.
Elena Mena helps lead a group during a breakout session at The Wellstone Center in Saint Paul on July 16, 2026.
The image and name of United Farm Workers founder César Chávez are prominent in the District del Sol corridor on St.
Paul’s West Side.
But West Side residents are taking the first step toward renaming César Chávez Street, following allegations of sexual abuse by the longtime community leader.
At the first of three listening sessions Thursday, residents brainstormed ideas at the Neighborhood House, answering prompts such as “What does the West Side mean to you?”
and “How do you want your community to be remembered?”
Organizers from the West Side Community Organization said they wanted to get a “temperature gauge” from the community as they worked to come up with a new name to present to the city.
Some of the answers Thursday night: “Home, comfort, barrio, familia, village, memories, tradition, cultura, pride, strength and la placita.”
Cities and states across the country have renamed landmarks and holidays since the allegations against Chavez surfaced earlier this year.
The Minnesota Legislature approved a bill in March to change Cesar Chavez Day to Farmworkers Day.
One of the sponsors, West Side native Rep.
María Isa Pérez-Vega, joined community members for the brainstorming session Thursday.
In May, Minneapolis changed Cesar Chavez Avenue in the North Loop back to Fourth Avenue N.
And a St.
Paul charter school, Academia Cesar Chavez, changed its name; it’s now Academia In Lak’ech.
State Rep.
María Isa Pérez-Vega takes part in breakout sessions at a community input session at The Wellstone Center in St.
Paul on July 16, 2026.
Credit: Chris Juhn for Sahan Journal
Monica Bravo, the executive director of the West Side Community Organization, said community members have offered many ideas of how to move forward following the allegations against Chavez.
“There was a big mix of responses,” Bravo said.
“What I think has been really powerful is that there was pretty immediate action and request that we should do something that brings forward accountability and really be mindful of who we honor and how we honor them.”
Julia Diaz, communications specialist for the West Side Community Organization, said it’s important for the community to see meaningful action.
“Our organization believes survivors and we believe accountability demands more than just words,” Diaz said.
“We wanted to see action and accountability, especially at a time when we haven’t been able to see accountability after the ICE surge.”
From left, Sergio Quiroz-Ligeralde, his wife Reyna, and their son Agila participate in the community input session at The Wellstone Center in St.
Paul on July 16, 2026.
Credit: Chris Juhn for Sahan Journal
Miranda Hatfield, a West Side resident for 25 years who came to the brainstorming session, said that she hopes to see a new name that represents the community.
West Side Community Organization leaders steered the listening sessions toward cultural identifiers, rather than renaming the street after an individual.
“I’m glad to hear that we’re not doing a person’s name again because that’s just going to cause this possibly down the road again,” Hatfield said.
“I also felt it was important to honor the Hispanic culture that is here, so I went with Spanish words that I thought native English speakers wouldn’t necessarily have the worst time speaking.”
Nick Lopez, a community member at the session, said although it’s important to get the local community’s input to the future renaming process, neighborhood businesses should also be involved with the process.
“It has to be something that a community at large can come to an agreement,” Lopez said.
The West Side Community Organization will collect responses from the listening sessions, and allow neighborhood residents to vote on a name that they will forward to the mayor’s office.
“We already have strong support from our City Council representative and we have strong support from the mayor’s office,” Bravo said.
“I believe that this will move forward.”
WSCO is hosting an additional two listening sessions on July 25 at 10 a.m. and July 28 at 6 p.m. at Neighborhood House.
Voting for the renaming will take place on Tuesday, Aug. 4, and Tuesday, Aug.
18.
There will be a virtual selection to those who cannot make it in person.
West Side residents can RSVP to the upcoming events and also fill out an online survey.
The Cesar Chavez mural on the side of La Guadalupana in St.
Paul on July 16, 2026.
Credit: Chris Juhn for Sahan Journal
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