When Dallas city leaders asked the public what to rename Industrial Boulevard, the result was overwhelming: Cesar Chavez Boulevard, in honor of the Mexican civil rights leader.
But now, the same city leaders who solicited the poll don’t seem to like the results. They apparently are set to rename the street Riverfront or Waterfront Boulevard.
Today, Industrial is a street few people would want named after them. It’s full of beer joints, strip clubs and bail bond companies.
But the huge Trinity Project is set to transform the street. Years from now, it might be a tourist destination.
Latino leaders feel slighted, and the controversy is on the verge of becoming racial. If African-Americans can get a street named after Martin Luther King, they argue, why can’t Latinos get a street named after a Latino hero like Chavez?
City council member Dwaine Caraway, who happens to be black, says it’s not about race. He argues the street should reflect the Trinity project, and not be named after a person. He says he also doesn’t support naming the street after Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, a prominent African-American political leader in Dallas.
Caraway is floating a compromise, of sorts. His idea: What about renaming Jefferson Boulevard, or Davis Boulevard, which run through the heart of heavily Latino Oak Cliff, Cesar Chavez Boulevard?
Not a bad idea, and one many Latinos would support. Activist Carlos Quintanilla, who hadn’t heard of the possible compromise until I told him right before we interviewed him, would take Jefferson over Industrial anytime.
City council member Elba Garcia says ignoring the public poll and renaming Industrial something other than Cesar Chavez would sent the wrong message to the public. But when I spoke to her on the phone, she seemed willing to some compromise, which includes renaming Industrial “Cesar Chavez Riverfront Boulevard.” Try fitting that on the street signs!
Garcia and Caraway are both on the city council committee that is supposed to decide the issue on Tuesday.
Expect some bickering. Whatever they decide, somebody won’t be happy.
But it does look like there are some compromises that would ultimately satisfy everyone. And hey, there’s one thing on which everyone agrees. The name Industrial has to be replaced.
Gordon Gabs 