Cesar Chavez statue removed from San Fernando park following sexual abuse allegations
San Fernando city staff removed a statue and covered a mural showing Cesar Chavez at a local park after sexual abuse allegations against the late labor activist surfaced earlier this week.
Public works crews initially covered the commemorative statue and massive 100-foot mural dedicated to Chavez and the farmworker movement on Thursday. However, videos showed people tearing the coverings off the fixtures later that day.
Many communities in Southern California took similar steps after The New York Times published an investigation on Wednesday detailing allegations that Chavez raped and abused women and girls, including revered labor leader Dolores Huerta.
Southern California politicians and institutions took swift action to remove mentions of Chavez from communities and programs.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis said she plans to introduce a proposal to "explore" renaming the county holiday and all county properties that bear Chavez's name. On Thursday, LA Mayor Karen Bass signed a similar proclamation that renamed the city holiday, "Farm Workers Day," removing Chavez's name.
California state lawmakers also took a similar step, introducing a proposal to change the upcoming state holiday on March 31 to "Farmworkers Day."
Similar steps were taken in Orange County cities, such as Santa Ana, where Mayor Valerie Amezcua said she wants every mention or likeness of Chavez removed. Chavez's face is featured on several murals throughout the city, including a wall at Santa Ana College and the Cesar E. Chavez High School.
"I called the city manager, and I was like, 'We're gonna do something, because I don't want his name on anything," she said, noting that it's still important to maintain the message behind the history of the farmworker movement.
UCLA's Department of Chicana/o Studies unanimously voted to remove Chavez's name from the program.
San Fernando resident Ricardo Benitez believed that the decisions to erase anything that features Chavez were rushed.
"I take this as a surprise, because I was not expecting this," Benitez said. "People are not OK with them doing that because you saw people covered and people went and uncovered it."
Other residents believe covering the imagery of Chavez acknowledges the survivors and promotes a shift towards accountability.
"I think it's really important to know that this is a movement, and not a person," San Fernando resident Astrid Serrano said. "We continue to fight for immigrant rights with everything going on in this country."
City leaders also decided to change scholarships bearing the labor leader's name. The Cesar Chavez Commemorative Committee announced it has been dissolved, and members are working on rebranding.