Fresno must keep California Avenue’s name to honor the city’s Black community | Opinion

My heart is heavy as once again, we are facing another of 1,000 cuts killing the history and heritage of the African-American community in our city. It absolutely challenges my ability to breathe when I think about the erosion of our presence in our city’s history. While the name, California Avenue may seem benign to people, unfamiliar, or even insensitive to the cultural history of southwest Fresno, California Avenue continues to be a landmark of measurable significance for our community.

At first glance the resolution that will be presented by our distinguished councilmen, Nelson Esparza, Luis Chavez and Miguel Arias appears not to include our beloved California Avenue. It is not mentioned in the agenda or the surface communication. The devil however is hidden in the details. It is part of the actual resolution. I pray that this is not a deliberate deception.

Not only is this a significant inconvenience for businesses and the residence of California Avenue, this is an unnecessary waste of public funds.

While we love and respect our Latino brothers and sisters for their effort to build power and influence in our city, it is imperative that we not dishonor the heritage of other vulnerable and disenfranchised communities in our city.

Even today, in 2023, west of Highway 99 and south of Highway 180, commonly known as southwest Fresno, continues to be the birthplace and origin of African-American existence and life in this city. Southwest Fresno has become a tremendously diverse community. The diaspora of African-Americans due to socioeconomic red lining, and acute disinvestment in southwest Fresno has severely threatened the history of African American presence in the city.

No other area in our city represents the history and heritage of African-Americans like southwest Fresno. No other high school in our city carries the mantle of African-American heritage and history like Thomas Alva Edison High School. The blood of our ancestors literally saturates the soil of southwest Fresno. This makes it inextricably personal.

To change California Avenue to Avenida Cesar Chavez from Highway 99 to Marks Avenue is an insult and blatant disregard for our presence in this city.

I am a fan of the “Back to the Future” trilogy. I watch it over and over and over again. I absolutely drive my family crazy. However, there is a scene and a principle in this trilogy that emphasizes that when history is changed or eroded, the future is erased.

More often than not, when I wake up inFresno, I find it difficult to breathe because every day feels like a fight for my own survival.

So what we are facing with the renaming of California Avenue west of the 99 to Marks Avenue is yet another cut to the history and heritage of African-Americans in this city and the legacy left to us by our community heroes.

I absolutely believe that the mayor’s vision of “One Fresno” is an exceptional vision that is yet to become a reality in our city. I also believe that One Fresno is best served by our ability to co-exist and prosper together, without causing harm to another community. I believe that One Fresno is more about collaboration, not assimilation, and giving credence and power to every culture and creed in our city.

Please encourage your councilperson to vote against this resolution in its current form.