A proposal by a Central Valley lawmaker calls for renaming Cesar Chavez Day, a state holiday, to Farmworker Day after rape allegations against the labor leader came to light Wednesday.
Cesar Chavez Day, held annually on March 31 to honor Chavez’s birthday, was established as a state holiday in 2000 in California and several other states designate the day as a public holiday.
A New York Times investigation, published Wednesday morning, detailed accounts by multiple women, including civil rights leader Dolores Huerta, who said Chavez sexually assaulted them. The revelation has drawn a swift response in the Valley leading to officials calling for the removal of his name from street signs to the removal of a statue at Fresno State.
“Farmworkers are essential to our everyday lives – from the food we eat to the economy we enjoy,” said Assemblywoman Alexandra Macedo, R-Tulare, who introduced the renaming bill.
“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,” she said.
Assemblywoman Macedo, R-Tulare, introduced a legislation to rename the March 31, the state holiday commemorating the birthday of Chavez to Farmworker Day. María G. Ortiz-Briones mortizbriones@fresnobee.com
Macedo said her bill aims to honor the farmworkers who are the backbone of the state’s $49 billion agricultural industry.
Many local leaders and farmworker-centered organizations and unions have voiced their support for Dolores Huerta and the victims of sexual assault as well as the farmworkers movement.
The UC Merced Community and Labor Center said in a statement that “the movement for farmworker justice has always been about more than one man.”
“Changes in the fields have been won through the struggle of hundreds of thousands of farmworker women and men who stood together in the face of oppressive and violent farm labor conditions and fought for dignity and safe working conditions,” the center said the statement.
According to Macedo’s office, she is amending her legislation, Assembly Bill 2407, currently a California High-Speed Rail bill, to rename César Chávez’s Day to Farmworker Day.
Huerta said in a statement Wednesday morning that Chavez’s actions should not “diminish the permanent improvements achieved for farmworkers with the help of thousands of people.”
“We must continue to engage and support our community, which needs advocacy and activism now more than ever,” Huerta said.
The Fresno Bee
María G. Ortiz-Briones is a reporter and photographer for McClatchy’s Vida en el Valle publication. She covers issues that impact the Latino community in the Central Valley. She is a regular contributor to La Abeja, The Bee’s free weekly newsletter on Latino issues. | María G. Ortiz-Briones es reportera y fotógrafa de la publicación Vida en el Valle de McClatchy. Ella cubre temas que impactan a la comunidad latina en el Valle Central. Es colaboradora habitual de La Abeja, el boletín semanal gratuito de The Bee sobre temas latinos.
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