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In preparation for a new downtown project, the Dallas City Council wanted to rename a major thoroughfare. Suggestions were solicited from the public with the public being asked to vote which name they wanted. An overwhelming majority voted for Cesar Chavez Blvd.
The Dallas City Council wanted a name that better reflected the project and so to appease the city’s Latinos they offered to rename another street, among a group, that was offered to Latino city leaders. The city leaders chose Ross Avenue, which was named after two brothers who owned land in the area and figured in Dallas history.
There was a public outcry when it was learned that Ross would be renamed Cesar Chavez Blvd. It triggered an editorial in the local newspaper to which the following op-ed is in response.
The tug-of-war currently happening in Dallas over whether or not Ross Ave. should be renamed Cesar Chavez is not going to end nicely. On the one hand, if city officials renege on their olive branch gesture to allow the city’s Latino community to honor a man recognized for fighting for the rights of Latino farm workers, bad feelings will undoubtedly ensue.
On the other hand, if city officials ignore the critics opposed to relegating the Ross family name only to the dusty annals of city history, more bad feelings will ensue. It clearly is a no-win situation for the Dallas City Council.
Or is it?
An editorial in today’s The Dallas Morning News would like to have us think so. According to the paper’s editorial board, the city’s Latino community would do the whole city a favor if we would just forget about changing Ross Ave. to Cesar Chavez Blvd. Their solution is to pick another street and choose someone who has more direct ties to Dallas’ Latinos.
There’s nothing wrong with that suggestion and, in fact, it’s long overdue. There should be recognition for any of our hard-working Latino and Latina politicians, business entrepreneurs or non-profit trailblazers with a street named in their honor, but there should also be a street named for Cesar Chavez too.
For The Dallas Morning News’ editorial board to arbitrarily declare that Cesar Chavez has no real meaning for Dallas Latinos shows a gross insensitivity to the community. Perhaps if they had a Latino/a editorial writer within their ranks who could have clued them in as to why Chavez is significant to all Latinos, then maybe they would have thought twice before publishing their ill-thought piece.
For starters, while it’s true that Cesar Chavez fought for the rights of farm workers, his legacy is that his memory has evolved into a symbol for standing up for the civil rights of all Latinos. His example of non-violence to get his message across is one that is replicated today by new generations of Latinos.
To many of us, he symbolizes the “every-Latino” who rose from humble beginnings, who never forgot his roots and always defended and spoke up for those who had no voice.
Cesar Chavez’ impact on today’s Latinos is something we’re constantly reminded of, especially whenever we hear a politician borrow Chavez’ most famous words: “Si se puede.”
Chavez, by virtue of his deeds, was and is able to bridge the wide variety of Latino cultures and unite us under one proud banner — no small feat.
And why Ross Ave.? There has been so much condemnation voiced over this selection that no one has examined the reason why this street was chosen.
Speaking for myself, the most important reason is because Ross Ave. is home to one of the most important landmarks for Dallas Latinos — the Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe.
The Cathedral is home to the largest Latino parish congregation in the nation. It holds a significant place in the history of the Dallas Latino community, not to mention that the building is not going anywhere.
It would be far easier to rename Ross Ave. Cesar Chavez Blvd and choose another street to rename for Ross Ave. In reviewing a 1901 Dallas city street directory at the Dallas County Texas Archives website, I discovered it wasn’t the first time Ross Ave. had been renamed.
In fact, in reviewing a GOOGLE map of downtown Dallas, the first thing that became apparent was that out of all the streets that wind throughout the heart of the city, there’s no street with a recognizable name that means something to the Latino community.
While there’s Malcolm X, Ervay, Griffin and Ackard to name a few, there’s no street, in a city that is majority Latino, that reflects our presence.
It’s time to change that and understand that there are plenty of streets to go around.
