Communities reckon with changes
By Bridgette Estrada, September 15, 2026
Pomona community members and city officials continue efforts to rename César Chávez Park, a move supporter like Joshua Swodeck, manager of the Cal Poly Pomona Community Innovation Hub, say represents accountability and could help create a space where victims feel comfortable coming forward.
Swodeck, who is also a former member of the Pomona Cultural Arts Commission said when analyzing the sexual assault and rape allegations made against César Chávez earlier this year and the time it took for the victims to come forward, he took his own family history into consideration. Similarly, situations he considered “heavy” did not come to light until years after the fact.
Reflecting on the possibility his own grandmother could keep parts of her life to herself to protect him helped him understand why someone might wait decades to share a traumatic experience. Swodeck said it ultimately shaped his decision to give people who come forward the benefit of the doubt.
“I realized that it created a possibility for me that my grandmother, at 95, has things that she still won’t talk about, right?” Swodeck said. “For me, I moved into the possibilities. It’s just a choice. It’s a choice that I decide that if somebody speaks up, I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt until proven wrong. Because the other side of that is to allow them to be in a dangerous space or to allow them to feel like they’re alone, nobody’s listening, and that, to me, is way more detrimental than me believing the wrong person.”
The city of Pomona and the Pomona Parks and Recreation Commission are moving forward with changes to rename César Chávez Park, in addition to the city’s decision to modify artwork displaying Chávez’s name and image.
The Cultural Arts Commission approved mural artist Paul Botello’s proposed alterations to the existing murals at César Chávez Park May 20 as part of a preservation effort approved by the city of Pomona.
During an interview with LAist in April, Botello said he wants to preserve the history of the farmworkers’ movement depicted in his murals, which tell the broader story of farmworkers’ exploitation and the fight for improved working conditions.
To do that, Botello proposed removing Chávez from murals where he is the main focal point and replacing his image with those who took part in the farmworkers’ movement.
Pomona resident Edgar Barron said he supports altering the murals rather than removing them completely.
“It’s hard to say that the mistakes of one man should overshadow everything that was accomplished during that time,” Barron said, referring to the farmworkers’ movement.
History professor Francisco Beltran who teaches Chicano and Latino history, said the allegations allow people to separate Chávez from the farmworkers’ movement and recognize the contributions of the many people who have often been overshadowed by his legacy.
“César Chávez is not the farmworkers’ movement, and the farmworkers’ movement is not César Chávez,” Beltran said. “We should talk about the farmworkers’ movement through the everyday actions of men, women and children who were on the front lines, organizing boycotts or negotiating contracts, because it’s not just the story of one great man.”
