Proposal could remove Cesar Chavez's name from LA County properties amid sexual abuse allegations

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 Cesar Chavez's name after allegations that the late labor leader sexually abused women and girls surfaced this week.

"As we reckon with these revelations, Los Angeles County must take thoughtful and deliberate action," Solis wrote in a statement. "We can continue to honor the farmworker movement and its enduring contributions while also confronting difficult truths. Our responsibility is to center survivors, demand accountability, and ensure that our public recognitions reflect our shared values."

Solis' motion would also explore the removal of Chavez in "civic artworks."

Prior to Solis' announcement, crews covered a statue of the union leader at San Fernando's Cesar E. Chavez Memorial Park but ultimately removed the covering on Wednesday morning. 

An investigation published by The New York Times on Wednesday details allegations that Chavez raped and abused women and girls, including accounts from two women who accused the acclaimed civil rights leader of sexually abusing them when they were children in the 1970s. Dolores Huerta, 95, who co-founded a labor organization with Chavez that would later merge with United Farm Workers, has also alleged she was assaulted by Chavez in the 1960s.

"I am nearly 96 years old, and for the last 60 years have kept a secret because I believed that exposing the truth would hurt the farmworker movement I have spent my entire life fighting for," Huerta wrote in a statement. "Following the New York Times' multi-year investigation into sexual misconduct by Cesar Chavez, I can no longer stay silent and must share my own experiences."

California State University, Northridge professor Gabriel Buelna chaired a subcommittee of the United Farm Workers union while he was a college student. He said that the allegations against Chavez will have lasting impacts on many communities.

"There's going to be a lot of crying in our community. There's going to be grief in our community," he said. "This is extremely painful. [There are] schools, parks — a navy vessel is named after Cesar Chavez."

Many politicians in Southern California echoed Solis' sentiments, with her colleague, Supervisor Janice Hahn, joining her call to rename Cesar Chavez Day, a holiday celebrated in California, Arizona, Washington and Utah on March 31. 

"I am horrified by the abuse that we now know Dolores Huerta and other women suffered, but I'm moved by their incredible courage in telling their stories publicly all these years later," Hahn's statement said. "I think it's time to change the name of our March public holiday to 'Farmworker Day' in Los Angeles County."

Mayor Karen Bass said she will take a similar move and sign a proclamation to rename the city holiday "Farm Workers Day" on Thursday.

"Dolores and leaders like her inspired so many of us to activism," she said in a statement. "Mr. Chavez's crimes do not diminish the courage of farm workers and workers everywhere who fight for their rights, equality for Latinos, and a stronger nation for everyone."

Similar steps were being taken in Orange County cities, like Santa Ana, where Mayor Valerie Amezcua said she wants every mention or likeness related to 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.

Assemblywoman Alexandra Macedo (R-Tulare) also introduced legislation to rename Cesar Chavez Day to Farmworker Day.

"Farmworkers are essential to our everyday lives – from the food we eat to the economy we enjoy," Assemblywoman Macedo said. "The fight for dignity in the fields was never about one person – it is about the millions of workers who sweat, toil and aspire for a better life."

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he would consider changing the holiday after he and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom learned about the allegations.

"There's a sense of urgency on that, and the context of this being a month we celebrate the life and times of a figure we've long embraced and revered," Gov. Newsom said. "Now, we're learning more. We have to be there for the back of the victims. We have to make sure truth and trust are restored. We have to make sure we're transparent and that people are accountable in that context."

The Cesar Chavez Foundation also released a statement on Tuesday saying it was aware of the "disturbing" allegations that Chavez "engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior with women and minors during his time as President of the United Farm Workers of America (UFW)."

"We are deeply shocked and saddened by what we are hearing," the statement said. "The Foundation is working with leaders in the Farmworker Movement to be responsive to these allegations, support the people who may have been harmed by his actions, and ensure we are united and guided by our commitment to justice and community empowerment."