The former Cesar Chavez Park and Community Center in Phoenix look to be on their way to being renamed the Aguila Park and Community Center. That is after Phoenix City Council last week denied a citizen petition to rename the park after Olympic track athlete and civil rights figure Jesse Owens.
Instead, Vice Mayor Kesha Hodge Washington made a motion to direct staff to conduct a process to identify a way to honor Jesse Owens and possibly other important historical figures and to return with an update to a city subcommittee by the end of 2026.
City council voted in March to strip Cesar Chavez’s name from all city property after allegations emerged that the labor leader sexually abused girls and women. The Cesar Chavez Library near the park and community center has since been renamed the Prickly Pear Library.
