San Francisco has narrowed the search for a new name for Cesar Chavez Street down to two finalists: Sí Se Puede and Las Campesinas, the Spanish phrase meaning female farmworkers. A 27-member working group presented both options to Mission District neighbors at a community meeting, with plans to make a final recommendation next week, according to the New York Post.
Two Names, One Deliberate Omission
Notably absent from the shortlist is any individual's name. As reported by the New York Post, the working group shied away from naming the street after a person at all, narrowing its choices to Sí Se Puede and Las Campesinas after a voting process spanning multiple meetings. Working group members said the proposed names honor Latinos amid contemporary political pressures and traumas, per the Post's reporting.
That approach lines up with a request from labor icon Dolores Huerta herself. Huerta has asked through a spokesperson that public streets and schools not be renamed after her individually, according to SFist. Separately, the working group chose non-individual, movement-based options for the street. Huerta is the one who coined Sí Se Puede in the first place, having created the phrase in Phoenix, Arizona in 1972 during a 25-day fast Cesar Chavez held to protest state legislation restricting farmworkers' right to strike, according to background compiled by Chicanos Por La Causa.
Why the Street Is Being Renamed Now
The renaming push traces back to a March 2026 New York Times investigation that found Cesar Chavez sexually abused women and girls as young as 12 and 13 years old during his decades leading the farmworkers movement. Per the Post's account of the current process, Chavez was accused of sexually abusing and raping multiple women and young girls, and former San Francisco Supervisor Susan Leal said the renaming should recognize the experiences of those girls and women.
Leal's involvement carries its own history. She was a supervisor when Army Street was renamed Cesar Chavez Street in 1995 and celebrated the change. She personally contacted Mayor Daniel Lurie's office in March 2026 to urge a second renaming once the abuse allegations surfaced, according to Mission Local. San Francisco Assessor-Recorder Joaquín Torres co-led the current working group, which includes representatives from the three supervisor districts the street runs through and was helped along by the mayor's office in its selection, the Post reports.
A Street Born From 1990s Immigration Politics
The original 1995 renaming wasn't just a tribute — it was a political statement. San Francisco supervisors changed Army Street's name to Cesar Chavez Street as a deliberate gesture to elevate Latino voices during statewide backlash against Proposition 187, the 1994 measure restricting undocumented immigrants from public services, per Mission Local's account. San Franciscans defended that choice at the ballot box the following year, rejecting a 1995 measure to revert the name back to Army Street by nearly 10 percentage points.
The street is roughly 3 miles long, per the Post. Cesar Chavez was a labor activist and United Farm Workers leader.
Cost and Pushback From Residents
Swapping the signs won't be cheap. Street sign replacements and sidewalk etchings will cost $107,000, which the city will cover, and San Francisco has also pledged to support residents and businesses that need to update addresses and official documents over time, according to the Post's reporting. Moisés García said the city will help with that transition for affected property owners and businesses.
Many attendees at the community meeting expressed support for the proposed names. On social media, some residents demanded a reversal to Army Street, with resident Kent Lindstrom writing, “How about Army Street? How is this so hard.” Others criticized the proposed names outright as unnecessary virtue signaling, and one local resident wrote that the majority of native San Franciscans want the street restored to Army Street — many longtime residents still call it Army out of habit, per the Post.
What Comes Next
Once the working group settles on a final name next week, Supervisor Jackie Fielder's office will introduce official legislation to formally rename the road. The public will get a chance to weigh in before that legislation advances, according to the Post's account.
San Francisco's process mirrors a wider California reckoning. Following the March 2026 revelations, state lawmakers introduced legislation to rename the March 31 Cesar Chavez Day holiday to Farmworkers Day, according to CalMatters. Northern California saw parallel moves too. San Jose also canceled a celebration. In Southern California, San Diego officials may rename César Chávez Parkway.
