Riverside is seeking the community's help when it comes to renaming the César Chávez Community Center in response to sexual abuse allegations against the labor union and civil rights activist, who died in 1993.
The city will host two community forums at the Youth Opportunity Center at 2060 University Ave. this week: Thursday, July 30, from 6 to 8 p.m., and Saturday, Aug. 1, from 10 a.m. to noon.
The city's actions come after Dolores Huerta, 95 – co-founder of the United Farm Workers alongside Chávez – published a statement in March alleging Chávez sexually abused her in the 1960s.
After Huerta's statement back in March, Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson called for community input on the future of the community center and the César Chávez statue on the Main Street Mall. The city in March also removed a César Chávez Day item from its agenda and instead observed Farmworkers Day.
In a statement sent to the Gazette on Monday, Lock Dawson said the community center has been "a gathering place for many Eastside residents for decades," long before the city became aware of "the issues surrounding its namesake."
"Given the strong feelings people have about the center, I am glad we are taking the time to hear the community, and I encourage residents to attend a forum and give us their feedback," she said.
After the allegations went public, the Latino Network of Riverside also postponed its annual César Chávez celebration, originally scheduled for March 30.
Meanwhile, the César Chávez statue, which sits on public land Downtown, is owned by the Latino Network of Riverside, not the city; the city said in March that it is working together with the group to determine the statue's future.
The Latino Network of Riverside was not immediately available for comment on the statue's future.
