Colton Weighs Erasing Cesar Chavez Name From Park Amid Sexual Abuse Allegations
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Photo by Manny Sandoval: Cesar Chavez Park, located at 600 Colton Ave. in Colton, is at the center of a City Council discussion over whether the site should be renamed back to Colton Municipal Park.
Colton City Council held a discussion on April 7, where they went over the possible renaming of Cesar Chavez Park and the direction the City is currently taking to manage it.
Across California, deceased Political Activist Cesar Chavez’s name is being removed from schools, streets, and holidays. The decision to remove his name was followed after Activist Dolores Huerta came forward with allegations in March 2026 that he sexually abused young girls, including herself over several decades.
These allegations, which include reports that some victims were minors, have led to a rapid movement to remove his statues and rename landmarks.
Councilmember Dr. Gonzalez opted to rename the park to its original name, Colton Municipal Park. He stated “We do have a formal procedure for naming… going back to the original name is probably a good idea because there’s a lot of personal and emotional feelings of what to name the park after, and I think we should give that some time to digest.”
Gonzalez continued to say that renaming Chavez Park back to its original name would bring back some of Colton’s history.
Councilmember Chastain had expressed that she also supports the idea of reverting back to the Parks original name if City officials and locals petitioned to have the park renamed.
The item ended off with Councilmembers Chastain and Gonzalez motioning to change the name to Colton Municipal Park if it came down to it, however as of now the City Council plans to look into the process of renaming and will bring the item back at another meeting at a later date.
