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Lansing street renamed for civil right activist Cesar Chavez

Lansing Mayor Andy Schor unveils the Cesar E. Chavez Avenue sign that replaces the Grand River Avenue sign during a ceremony on Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018, at the intersection of Cesar E. Chavez Avenue and Turner Street in Old Town Lansing, Mich. (Nick King/Lansing State Journal via AP)

LANSING,(AP) — Onlookers cheered as Lansing’s mayor unveiled a sign renaming a city street for civil rights activist Cesar Chavez.

More than 50 people braved below-freezing temperatures for Tuesday’s ceremony for the new Cesar E. Chavez Avenue signs in the Old Town neighborhood. The name replaces Grand River Avenue in the area.

The City Council voted in October for the renaming to honor the Mexican-American who went from a grape and cotton picker to co-founder of the United Farm Workers of America in the 1960s.

Lansing for Cesar E. Chavez Committee president Al Salas tells the Lansing State Journal that Chavez was a man of peace and would’ve been happy with the multicultural crowd at the ceremony. The newspaper reports Chavez visited Lansing several times to advocate for farm workers.

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