Dallas civil rights activists join fight for Cesar Chavez Blvd.

by Jacquinette Murphy of of North Dallas Gazette

Poised to make history again, Marvin Crenshaw and Roy H. Williams are two longtime local African-American civil rights activists that recently accepted the charge to help the Cesar Chavez Task Force and other supporters to successfully complete their quest to name a Dallas city street after Cesar Chavez, a Mexican-American civil rights hero.

The addition of these two history makers to the task force is ideal as Crenshaw and Williams are no strangers to the Dallas City Council horseshoe. Both are remembered as bureaucracy bulldozers in the battle for balanced political representation in the City of Dallas. In May 2008, Williams and Crenshaw celebrated the 20-year anniversary of the adoption of the fourteen single-member (14-1) Dallas City Council district representation plan which came as a result of their filing of a federal voting rights lawsuit to rid the Dallas of the disproportionate 8-3-1 city districting plan.

Also to their credit, the City of Dallas presently has at least three street names that are representative of the African-American culture located near the Fair Park area in South Dallas. Through their help, Oakland Avenue was changed to Malcolm X Boulevard, Fourth Street was changed to J. B. Jackson Jr. Street and most notably Forest Avenue was changed to Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. According to Crenshaw, these streets are time-capsuled landmarks that commemorate the African-American community's presence and are historical reminders for the entire city of Dallas.

Now, these two men are side-by-side again in the battle for representation for the brown-skinned citizens of Dallas. “I do not see a difference in their plight and our plight,” said Williams. “We have shared suffering from the institution of racism. We have a kindred spirit.”

Crenshaw shares the same position, “Chavez's history and struggle for justice in this country was not just for Latinos and Hispanics, it was for all people in this country. It is our time to support them because when we filed our suit for the 14-1 districts, it was Hector Garcia that pushed it all the way through for us.”

Williams also shared terms that were offered an easy resolution to the problem in a discussion with the City after going to the Fifth Circuit Supreme Court. “The city asked us to forget about the Hispanic community and take four black seats. We would not do that.” Today, the two are not abandoning the troops in the thick of the battle but are trying to urge the city to deal justly with all of its citizens.

“It is about justice and fairness,” said Williams. “It is time for Dallas to move into the 21st century.”

In an earlier meeting of the task force, Alberto Ruiz stated the basis for their pursuit of a street name. “We want to send a message to this city that we are a part of this city. We have went from an idealistic battle to a symbolic one. It is really about respect and acknowledgment.”

Crenshaw and Williams have set their support with the Hispanic community for that very reason and will see that they are equally represented in this area just as they did for the African-Americans in Dallas.

Clad with black and green T-shirts with Vote Yes Cesar Chavez, Williams and Crenshaw were among the supporters who spoke at the meeting of the City Planning Commission subcommittee to urge the city to stand up to its obligation to honor the request of the people to change Ross Avenue to Cesar Chavez.

Crenshaw stated that "This is Dallas and we are a diverse city. We have to share it. America and Dallas must move on. One of the greatest things in Dallas is its citizens. Who wants to come to a city that does not respect its citizens? We need to get together and send this back to the city council since they are the ones that got us in this in the first place."

Taking the aim against the process and the council, Williams stated, "It is amazing to me that in 2008, we cannot come together on diversity simply because of change. This city has not been fair to this minority group.” Other speakers included Alberto Alonzo, Rafael Conchito, and Patrick Godfrey. "It is about the Hispanics having a name, just like the African-Americans," said Godfrey.

The group was met with much opposition from the advocacy group named Saveross, led by Soozy Martin of 3008 Ross Avenue. The group paraded their position statement. “Historic Ross Avenue should not be the consolation prize for misguided attempt to honor a great man,” began Martin as she made reference to the change from the original street choice of Industrial Boulevard that was rejected by the council. “It already honors two great men and is a name that pleases everyone. Erasing Dallas history and naming it something else would be a dishonor to an early family that helped to build the city of Dallas,” Martin stated.

Ella Ambreu, a third-generation owner of a cleaning business located at 3901 and 3825 Ross Avenue, cited the undue impact to the small business owners. "We just invested $50,000 on a lot next to our business. The financial impact should not be underestimated. There are 410 business owners and the cost of advertising, business card printing and GPS updating could take about several billion dollars. Because of this, historic Ross Avenue must stay Ross Avenue.” Others cited Ross Avenue as the fifth Avenue of Dallas and noted the branding as a major point of attraction to businesses relocating to the Central Business District.

Alberto Ruiz, in a later press conference, stated that the decision was made before the group even arrived. “Our fate was not considered today, not one bit. Not Ross anywhere but Ross, send them back to the other side of the river. Three miles of a street is not too much to ask for a man that has changed the lives of so many people.”

Another supporter of the Cesar Chavez Task Force efforts, Elaee Thompson, African-American and representative of the Dallas Sanitation workers stated, “I support the name change because he is not just a household name, he is known across the country. He helped many people that were poor stand up for themselves. The Ross brothers did not do anything for the poor.”

Just seven days after the sub-committee did not pass the recommendation to rename Ross Avenue Cesar Chavez, the full committee returned to seal the issue of Ross Avenue. In turn this second meeting proved to send the supporters of the street name change back to the Trinity River Corridor committee and the City Council.

At the start of the issue, the planning committee asked all those that would like to see Industrial named Caesar Chavez to please stand. For the first time the opposing sides stood together. The message of the Caesar Chavez Task Force and SaveRoss became somewhat similar. The city planning commission had finally succeeded in finding common ground. As the groups and the committee worked through the session, the Cesar Chavez Task Force speakers asked for a delay of the final vote on Ross Avenue until the issue with Industrial Boulevard was resolved while the Save Ross group asked for a decision on Ross Avenue immediately.

“Please do not leave it in limbo as it is today, please preserve Ross.” said Darwin Payne, an SMU professor.

The motion failed 7 to 6 with committee member John Lozano supporting voting against the renaming of Ross Avenue but expressing support of the renaming of Industrial Boulevard to Cesar Chavez. Commissioners Sally Wolfish and Neil Emmons were wholeheartedly against the motion, “I am for Ross Avenue, I want it [the motion] removed from the docket.,” said Wolffish. Emmons also did not support the motion. The issue of changing Ross Avenue to Cesar Chavez is officially dead.

Now, it returns to the original tug of war between the City Council and the 10,000 web poll survey results agreeing to the renaming of Industrial Boulevard to Cesar Chavez Boulevard.

In the previous discussions regarding the renaming of Industrial Boulevard, the council decided to forgo the suggestion of the web poll majority to name the street Cesar Chavez and the other options including Eddie Bernice Johnson Parkway, Trinity Lakes Boulevard, and Waterfront Boulevard. They chose Riverfront Boulevard and told the task force and other supporters to locate another street to rename after their hero. The fight continues.

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