Mesa unveils Calle Cesar Chavez honorary street signs to honor civil rights leader
Oct 15, 2022, 5:00 AM
(City of Mesa Photo)
(City of Mesa Photo)
PHOENIX — The city of Mesa unveiled honorary street signs as a tribute to late Arizona native and civil rights leader Cesar Chavez to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month.
Calle Cesar Chavez signs will be displayed along a one-mile stretch of Broadway Road between Mesa and Stapley drives in alignment with the standard street signs, Mesa announced in a press release.
“My grandfather would be humbled and honored by the tribute to him here in Mesa. It is a testament to his passion for civil rights, inclusiveness and for better conditions for American workers,” Julie Chavez Rodriguez, granddaughter of Chavez, said in the release.
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Chavez, who was born in Yuma, was awarded a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1993 by Bill Clinton after spending much of his life fighting for improved working and living conditions for farmers in the United States.
He founded the National Farm Workers Association, a predecessor of the United Farm Workers. UFW is the largest farm workers union in the country.
“The vision and legacy of Cesar Chavez serve as guiding lights for Mesa, in our commitment to being a just, equitable and inclusive city,” Mesa Mayor John Giles said. “We’re pleased to celebrate his civil rights leadership and dedication to fighting for the greater good and to honor his lineage in Mesa and Arizona.”
The city is planning an honorary street designation for Martin Luther King Jr. in downtown Mesa along Center Street.
