Sexual abuse allegations could lead to renaming Cesar Chavez Day

LOS ANGELES – The stunning allegations of rape and sex assault against the late labor leader César Chávez quickly led Wednesday to questions about how government agencies and schools would respond, with Chávez’s name adorning multiple schools and other facilities, and a major road through downtown and East Los Angeles.

The allegations could also lead to a renaming of the annual César Chávez holiday, which is approaching on March 31.

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Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis said she will introduce a motion “to explore renaming the county holiday.” She said the process will include labor and community organizations and will be “grounded in the same collective bargaining process that established the holiday.”

‘Farmworker Day’

Solis did not offer a possible new name, but county Supervisor Janice Hahn suggested in a statement Wednesday morning that the county consider “Farmworker Day.”

“For those of us who grew up admiring the farmworker movement, today’s news is heartbreaking,” Hahn said in a statement. “But as in any other civil rights movement, men were only half the story. The abuses of one man will never diminish the extraordinary sacrifices, accomplishments, and legacy of the women of the farmworker movement. It’s time we put them first.”

Several Republican state legislators introduced a proposal in Sacramento Monday calling on the statewide Chávez holiday to be renamed Farmworker Day.

Solis said her motion will also call on the county to explore “renaming parks, streets, county facilities, real property, monuments, and other County programs that bear the name of Cesar Chavez, including the removal of related imagery in civic artworks, with decisions guided by community engagement.”

Farmworker movement

“We can continue to honor the farmworker movement and its enduring contributions while also confronting difficult truths,” Solis said. “Our responsibility is to center survivors, demand accountability, and ensure that our public recognitions reflect our shared values.”

An activist group called California Rising held a news conference Wednesday afternoon calling for the renaming of César Chávez Avenue, which runs about six miles through downtown Los Angeles, Monterey Park and East Los Angeles. The group called for the road to be named Dolores Huerta Avenue, honoring the United Farm Workers union co-founder who said she was sexually assaulted twice by Chávez, resulting in two pregnancies.

Raul Claros, founder of California Rising, a nonprofit he started in 2016, said he was passionate about the issue because he has a 10-year-old girl, and he will have to explain to her why he is attempting to persuade Los Angeles City officials to rename the street.

‘A new movement’

“We know in the Latino community, a lot of this abuse has been tolerated for generations,” Claros said. “In our culture, we’re told to stay quiet. That stops now.”

“… This is the moment that creates a new movement, and that movement means we have to get Cesar Chavez’s name out of this street and get Dolores Huerta’s name up there,” he said.

He urged people to call their elected officials from school board members up to Congress to change the names of public spaces and sites that were dedicated to Chavez.

School buildings

Chávez’s name graces a series of schools, buildings and other facilities across the region and the state.
The Los Angeles Unified School District is home to César Chávez Elementary School near El Sereno, and the César Chávez Learning Academies, a San Fernando campus of four independent high schools.

It was unclear if the LAUSD will consider pulling Chávez’s name from the campuses.

“Los Angeles Unified is aware of the recent, troubling allegations related to Cesar Chavez,” an LAUSD representative said in a statement Wednesday. “We take matters of this nature very seriously. Los Angeles Unified respects the voices and courage of survivors of all forms of violence.

“The district is reviewing curriculum and resources to ensure the emphasis remains on the important work of the farmworker movement, not on any one individual. It is important to recognize the collective work of thousands who have advanced social justice, labor rights, and community empowerment.”

Schools are also named after Chávez in Compton, Lynwood and Montebello. Santa Ana in Orange County is home to César Chávez High School.

At Los Angeles City College, construction is continuing on the César Chávez Administration and Workforce Building, scheduled for completion next year.

Los Angeles Union Station, meanwhile, houses the César Chávez Transit Plaza. (CNS)

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