A city survey showing that most respondents want to change the name of César E. Chávez Boulevard back to Durango Boulevard is drawing mixed reactions from San Antonio College students, who say the debate goes beyond street signs to questions of history, community and accountability.
The online survey, conducted by the City of San Antonio between March 23 and April 2, garnered more than 18,000 responses, with about 64% supporting a return to the historic Durango name and roughly 36% favoring alternative names. Among residents who live along the corridor, support for reverting to Durango was even stronger, at about 79%.
City officials are now holding community listening sessions as they weigh next steps.
At a student‑led discussion Tuesday afternoon, students and faculty traded perspectives on what the potential name change might mean for Latino representation, local history and survivors of alleged abuse connected to the late labor leader.
“Growing up marching on César Chávez Day, seeing his name on a downtown street meant a lot,” sophomore sociology major Maria Lopez said. “At the same time, if survivors are coming forward with serious allegations, we can’t just ignore that. Renaming the street is one way to show we’re listening to them.”
Others at the event said they worry that returning to Durango could unintentionally erase decades of organizing by farmworkers and civil rights activists.
“I’m not against accountability, but I don’t want us to throw away the entire history of the farmworker movement because of one person,” said Jorge Ramirez, who studies Mexican American studies at SAC. “Maybe the answer is to rename the street after another Tejana or Tejano leader who reflects our values right now.”
The boulevard, which intersects through San Antonio’s West Side area downtown, carried the Durango name for more than a century before the City Council voted 7–4 in 2011 to rename it César E. Chávez Boulevard, a move that followed years of contentious debate over cost and historic preservation.
The latest survey and community listening sessions came after a New York Times investigation revealed multiple claims that Chavez raped and sexually abused women and girls. City leaders cancelled official César Chávez observances, opened an online survey and held public forums to reconsider the street’s name, which could cost more than $200,000.
City officials say they will use the survey results and feedback from in‑person forums to craft a recommendation for the San Antonio City Council, which would have the final say on whether the street returns to Durango or is given a different name altogether.
For Lopez, the outcome will signal how the city balances honoring history with responding to new information.
“Whenever someone’s name ends up on that sign,” she said, “it should reflect who we are as a community today — not just who we thought we were 15 years ago.”
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