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Community group asks Adrian HRC to host town hall on replacing Gulf Street Cesar Chavez sign
Summary
Ola requested a town hall and HRC coordination after allegations about Cesar Chavez prompted removal of a Gulf Street memorial sign; OLA and the commission agreed to a community meeting and a special HRC session to formulate a recommendation to the city commission.
An Adrian community organization asked the Human Relations Commission on Tuesday to lead a public conversation about replacing memorial signage for Cesar Chavez on Gulf Street.
Elizabeth Perez Gases, chairperson of OLA, and Ben Negron, OLA's founder and executive director, told commissioners the group presented a formal request at an April city commission meeting after allegations surfaced about Chavez. "Ola is committed to a process rooted in transparency and community voice," Perez Gases said, asking that the city schedule a town hall so East Side residents who "actually lived the movement" can help choose a replacement name or marker.
Commissioners and staff agreed that community input should precede any formal HRC recommendation to the city. City staff member Michelle told the commission that the HRC should prepare a report for city review after community meetings and that the HRC cannot complete a final recommendation without following any applicable ordinance or administrative steps.
OLA proposed running an initial forum at the Alliance Center so residents could speak in a more accessible location; the group and commissioners discussed scheduling a meeting the week of June 30. Commissioners then agreed to hold a follow-up HRC meeting to consider the town-hall input and, if ready, send a recommendation to the city commission. The HRC tentatively set an OLA-hosted community meeting for June 30 and scheduled a special HRC meeting for the second Tuesday in July (tentatively July 14) to finalize a recommendation.
Katie Morgan, who identified herself as a board secretary with a local Latino civic group, urged the HRC to include Latinx voices and to archive existing signage at the Lenway Historical Museum so the community can document why the original signs were installed and later removed.
The commission did not adopt a formal renaming at the meeting. Next steps: OLA will host the initial forum, the HRC will attend and gather community input, and the commission will consider a recommendation at the special HRC meeting in July. If the HRC votes to recommend an ordinance change or renaming, the item would then be referred to the city commission for the formal ordinance/approval process.
