California and Humboldt County rename Cesar Chavez holiday after abuse allegations 

• A New York Times investigation released alleged sexual abuse against Cesar Chavez.
• Governor Gavin Newsom passed the bill on March 26, officially renaming the holiday to Farmworkers Day.
• Humboldt County Board of Supervisors voted yes 4-0 to rename the county holiday on March 24. 
• Youth Educational Services’ annual event in honor of Cesar Chavez Day removed name references from the website. 

Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill to rename Cesar Chavez Day to Farmworkers Day on March 26 after sexual abuse allegations. Lawmakers passed the legislation eight days after the allegations came to light. 

An investigation released by the New York Times on March 18 detailed years of alleged sexual abuse by Chavez against young women and Dolores Huerta, who co-founded the United Farm Workers union with Chavez.

The renaming process began in the California Assembly with a 67-0 vote. Assemblymember Chris Rogers, representing Humboldt County, told El Leñador why he voted in favor of the bill. 

“I was proud to vote for that bill and I plan to spend the holiday celebrating the strength of Dolores Huerta, the other survivors of the abuse, and honoring the tens of thousands of farmworkers who have fought and died to create better working conditions for generations to come,” Rogers said. 

Humboldt County Board of Supervisors votes to rename 

The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors voted in favor 4-0 to rename the county holiday on March 24. Supervisor Natalie Arroyo proposed the name change. 

“The impetus behind this is moving the focus away from Cesar Chavez and having learned about his actions in the form of sexual assault and the allegations around that, the state [California Assembly] has moved forward to focusing on farmworkers and I think that makes perfect sense to center them,” Arroyo said during the Board of Supervisors meeting.

During public comment, community member ​​Joanne McGarry, saw this change as an opportunity to celebrate more than a single individual in the movement. 

“This renaming after some individual has been found to be less than stellar in the eyes of so many, brings to mind how so many of our statues, of our holidays, of our streets and highways and things like that, we put people literally on pedestals, and then come to find out that those pedestals, there’s issues with putting those people on pedestals,” McGarry  said. “So I think this is a great initial move to start recognizing the collective or the greater good and not an individual who happened to have led the movement or the mission or the cause.”

Cal Poly Humboldt changes

Following allegations, the CPH Youth Educational Services’ (Y.E.S.) annual event that takes place in honor of Cesar Chavez Day was changed on their website to remove any name references to Chavez. The university did not state there were currently any other changes at the campus level as of March 23. El Leñador contacted the Y.E.S. office and they declined to comment about the name removal. 

“In light of the allegations, references to Cesar Chavez Day were removed from the Serve-a-Thon’s website to keep the focus on the important work of Y.E.S., and the event will take place as planned,” the university said. “The University is proud of Y.E.S.’s longstanding commitment to making a positive impact on the North Coast. Cesar Chavez Day is a state holiday, which we are legally obligated to recognize by providing a day off for our employees. If there are changes at the state level, we will adjust accordingly.”

El Centro Académico Cultural, the Latine cultural center on campus, began decorating their hallways with Latine icons before the allegations were released. The center covered up Cesar Chavez’s portrait after knowledge of the allegations. El Centro did not have any events planned for Cesar Chavez Day prior to the allegations. 

“Since the news came out, we just have been in conversations and more in a reflection mode, acknowledging the trauma of many women that are surviving this in different social movements,” said Brenda Pérez, coordinator of El Centro. 

Yaneyry Delfin, CPH student and Director of Scholars Without Borders, an organization that serves undocumented students, said regardless of the allegations, Chavez has never been an inspiration to SWB, due to his anti undocumented immigrants stance. Delfin hopes this change brings recognition for those who deserve it most. 

“What shouldn’t happen is that the day is erased all together,” Delfin said. “It’s time to shine the light on other voices. Dolores Huerta, Emma Tenayuca, Luisa Moreno, Carolina Lugo, Larry Itliong, and many more. This is the time to acknowledge the women who never were.”