From California to Minnesota, elected leaders and civil rights groups are seeking to distance themselves from the name of Cesar Chavez In the wake of the accusations That he sexually assaulted women and girls during the 1960s when he became the face of the farmworkers movement.
Efforts have been swift and widespread to reframe events ahead of what would normally be a day to celebrate the life and legacy of the Latino rights advocate on his birthday, March 31.
In Tucson, Arizona, last weekend’s celebration was billed as a community and business fair. In Grand Junction, Colorado, it’s now a Sí, Se Puede celebration. On Tuesday, El Paso, Texas, will celebrate Community and Business Heritage Day.
Minnesota lawmakers voted this week to end the Cesar Chavez holiday in their state, while California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday signed a bill to repeal the President Chavez holiday in their state. Renaming Cesar Chavez Day Such as Agricultural Workers Day. In Colorado, lawmakers are considering a bill to rename the state’s volunteer holiday there as Farmworkers Day.
Rename efforts Dozens of schools, streets and other sites are also being established across the United States named after Chavez, including the National Monument in Keene, California.
The resulting conversations were far from easy, as supporters wrestled with conflicting emotions while determining how best to honor what was a pivotal labor and civil rights effort in the United States.
Feelings of disappointment, disbelief and even anger have created an emotional cocktail for those charting the way forward.
The New York Times recently reported that it found that Cesar Chavez groomed and sexually assaulted young girls who worked in the movement. Co-founder of the movement, Dolores HuertaShe also revealed that she was a victim of abuse in her 30s.
“It was like a personal injury and a betrayal,” said Jose Luis Chavez, founder and president of the committee that has organized the Cesar Chavez celebration in Mesa County, Colorado, for the past decade. The committee is made up of people who worked in the agricultural industry and whose grandparents and parents cut grapes and picked peaches.
“I think that’s what my committee was feeling, and I think when we look at our community here, that’s what people still feel,” said Jose Luis Chavez, who is not related to the famous civil rights leader. “They feel a lot of hurt and a lot of anger.”
Born from a desire to educate students about marginalized communities, the annual celebration in Grand Junction has evolved into a gathering with music, food, classic cars and high school students taking the stage to accept scholarships.
Jose Luis Chavez said simply canceling the order was not an option.
The logo was modified to include the phrase “Sí, se puede” – the A rallying cry coined by Huerta This translates as “yes, it can be done”. A flurry of social media posts let people know the event will be held under a new name.
The annual Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta rally and rally in Tucson has been downsized and rebranded. There was no march or car show last weekend, billed instead as the “Labor Unity and Comunidad Fair,” with a broader focus on workers’ rights and no mention of Chavez.
Organizers with the Arizona Cesar y Chavez + Dolores Huerta Holiday Coalition encouraged supporters of the movement to continue showing up for each other.
The group said in a post on social media: “Even when we thought about canceling, we chose to continue, because this movement is bigger than one name or person.” “There is no single individual who defines it…we, the workers, do it.”
It’s a chorus that has echoed loudly and steadily since the allegations became public. While there have been calls in Texas and elsewhere to eliminate the holiday altogether, the groups moving forward are motivated by a sense of duty to the movement’s overall legacy.
The outcome will be different for each community, said Sihela Mota Casper, executive director of Latinos in Heritage Preservation.
“It’s the due process needed to help deal with this,” she said. “I think this is the best decision that every community has to decide for themselves, and how they can arrive at a decision that best reflects their community and their values.”
The annual parade in Albuquerque was canceled long before the news broke and for unrelated reasons, but New Mexico’s largest city is just beginning the process of sorting out name changes for roads and other public spaces.
City Councilman Joaquín Baca, whose district includes roads named after Cesar Chavez and Huerta, said it is a complex process that will take time and require public awareness. Even Baca and his family are still pondering the fate of the poster of Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta that hangs in their home.
Baca said the emails, phone calls and text messages that have poured in to city leaders include demands to tear down everything related to Cesar Chavez, as well as demands to use a broader brush to recognize the rights of farmworkers and other workers.
“Every side of every issue is within the context of this,” he said. “And for me, it was a lot of listening at this point.”
It’s an opportunity for elected leaders and policymakers to pause and think about expanding the narrative around Chavez’s legacy, said Mota Casper, who has built a career in heritage tourism and historic preservation. Society has a responsibility to tell “that whole story,” she said, recognizing that humans are complex and fallible.
“So, when commemorating or glorifying them, we have to be able to acknowledge the good and the bad and take that as it is… but also understand that we cannot overlook history,” she said. “We can’t simplify it just to make it easy. We have to be able to talk about it.”