San Francisco officials rename avenue as ‘Frida Kahlo Way’

City officials in San Francisco recently unveiled a street sign designating an avenue as “Frida Kahlo Way” to honor the famed Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.

The street, which was originally named after James Phelan — an Irish immigrant who amassed wealth in the city during the time of the gold rush — was officially renamed after Kahlo on Friday, according to KQED. Kahlo lived in the city during the 1930s.

Officials and students at the City College of San Francisco’s Ocean Campus, which the street primarily services, celebrated the move at an unveiling ceremony on Friday afternoon.

City supervisors unanimously voted to rename the avenue in June following criticism prompted by the politics of Phelan’s son, James D. Phelan, who served as mayor of the city from 1897 to 1902.

{mosads}James D. Phelan supported the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, was an advocate for anti-immigrant movements and ran a campaign to “Keep California White.”

Supervisor Norman Yee said told the local station that the move to rename the street is particularly important for him as a Chinese-American.

“My family came over in the 1800s,” said Yee. “So they actually had to feel this type of racism that people had to go through around that time, and it did impact my family. So for me to be able to rectify what was the wrong thing to do means a lot to me personally.”

“She’s a powerful, queer woman of color at a time in Mexico where there weren’t really big female names in the art scene,” Associated Student Council Vice President Angelica Campos at the Ocean Campus told the station. “It’s a really powerful statement at this time … where women are under attack in many ways.”

A spokesperson for the San Francisco Foundation, which reportedly had a visual arts award named after Phelan that it later decided to rename earlier this year, also commended the move.

“As a community foundation focused on racial equity and economic inclusion in the Bay Area, we work with many partners, including our generous donor community. We adhere to donor intent; and in making the decision regarding the aforementioned award names, we have kept our commitment on how the funds are to be used. We have yet to make a final decision on the new names of the awards.”