Rep. Jesús “Chuy” Garcia announces process for renaming César Chavez Post Office

Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García encouraged local high school students on Wednesday to submit suggestions for the renaming of the Pilsen Post Office, which is currently named after César Chavez.

The community engagement plan, titled “Our Community, Our Legacy,” is intended as an educational classroom opportunity for students to discuss potential nominees to replace Chavez. The planned name change comes after a New York Times investigation uncovered the prominent Latino activist’s history of sexually abusing young girls and women, including fellow leader Dolores Huerta.

Chavez, who died more than three decades ago, has long been a civil rights icon for Chicago’s Latino and labor communities. He's honored with various murals, schools and plaques across the city, but there have been growing calls to reevaluate those memorials.

“The congressman believes that given the revelations about César Chavez, the Pilsen Postal office needed to be renamed,” a spokesperson for García said.

García is not the only one taking action after hearing news of Chavez’s sexual grooming and abuse. A handful of Chavez murals across Chicago have been removed or replaced with designs honoring Huerta instead.

The Illinois Senate adopted resolutions to replace César Chavez Day with Farmworkers Day on March 31 and declare April 10 as “Dolores Huerta Day” in Illinois.

“In recent months, Dolores Huerta has shown profound resilience and courage in sharing her own experience of harm, doing so in order to uplift the stories of countless women whose voices were overlooked or silenced,” the resolution states.

It's unclear how many other sites in Chicago will remove Chavez’s name from their titles.

A public elementary school in Back of the Yards, César E. Chavez Multicultural Academic Center, has initiated the process that could lead to a new name, according to Chicago Public Schools officials. Any recommendation would need approval from the Local School Council and the school board.

Renaming the Pilsen Post Office falls within García’s jurisdiction based on its status as a federal building, but the renaming of private or state-owned buildings is outside the scope of the congressman’s authority.

“This post office is a key part of our community, and members of the community should provide proposals for the new name,” García wrote in a press release. “I’m excited to hear the ideas from the youth in our district.”

Nominees must be deceased, with a clear connection or contribution to Pilsen or the 4th Congressional District and must have a demonstrated commitment to public service, education, labor or civil rights, according to García. The program begins April 8 and the deadline for schools to participate is May 15.