City of San Fernando crews dismantle and remove a statue of Cesar E. Chavez on March 19, 2025, after a city council voted for the removal. (Photo by Julianna Lozada)
Shaken by allegations that the late civil rights leader Cesar Chavez raped women and girls as young as 12 during the 1970s, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will take up a motion today to remove his name and image from numerous places in the county.
Supervisors Hilda Solis and Lindsey Horvath will ask the Chief Executive Office and the County Counsel to begin a process whereby parks, streets, monuments, civic art and other county programs will have Chavez’s name and likeness removed.
Places that honored Chavez bearing his name would be renamed, according to the motion.
The murals and statue of Cesar E. Chavez at the memorial park in the City of San Fernando were covered on Thursday morning, March 19, 2026. In the early afternoon a man who called himself “Jose” removed the tape and covering from both the statue and the murals. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
The process would be aided by community groups who are impacted by the stunning allegations, while opening the process to impacted groups to participate “without stigma or fear of reprisal.”
Many civil rights leaders have already suggested renaming the street of Cesar E. Chavez Avenue in downtown Los Angeles to Dolores Huerta Avenue, for example.
Huerta is a co-leader of the farmworkers movement and has been honored by Solis and the Board of Supervisors for playing a critical role in the advancement of labor rights for farmworkers.
Huerta, who will turn 96 on April 10, told the New York Times last week in an explosive report that Chavez drove her to a secluded grape field in Delano, California, in 1966 and raped her in the vehicle. She said she never reported the attack out of concerns for police hostility toward Chavez and the labor movement, and because she feared she wouldn’t be believed.
“I stand with Dolores and with every survivor who has carried these experiences in silence. Survivors must believed, supported, and treated with dignity. They must never again be made to feel that their voices are secondary to any movement or individual,” said Solis in a statement last week.
L to R; Lindsey Horvath, LA County Supervisor, Juanita Chavez, Marlina Chavez, and Hilda Solis, LA County Supervisor with the John Anson Ford Human Relations Courage award for their mother, Dolores Huerta. Juanita and Marlina accepted the award for their mother, Dolores Huerta at the Los Angeles County Hall of Administration on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2023. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
In the motion, the supervisors say they want the county to continue to honor the farmworker movement even while “confronting difficult truths,” and that the county should recognize the movement’s legacy rather than the legacy of a single person.
The motion asks county staff to come back with a written report in 21 days on a process to begin these changes.
As it is, an array of local agencies are considering similar actions. Some have already taken action.
Los Angeles Unified School District officials are set to weigh a similar shift, with the Board of Education scheduled to consider a resolution Tuesday that would commemorate March 31 as “Farm Workers Day” rather than honoring Cesar Chavez.
The proposal, introduced by Board members Kelly Gonez and Rocio Rivas, comes amid a broader reckoning over Chavez’s legacy following recent allegations of sexual abuse. The measure emphasizes the farmworker movement as a collective effort, while affirming support for survivors and directing the district to align instructional materials with that broader history.
The resolution would also require the district to provide resources and counseling for survivors of sexual violence and strengthen student education around consent, healthy relationships and abuse prevention.
Students attend the graduation ceremony at Cesar E. Chavez Learning Academy for the Social Justice Humanitas Academy in San Fernando, Wednesday, May 31, 2023. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
If approved, the resolution would rename the March 31 observance and launch a process to rename schools bearing Chavez’s name, including the Cesar Chavez Learning Academies in San Fernando and Cesar Chavez Elementary School in El Sereno, with proposed new names to be brought to the board by fall.
The draft outlines the need to celebrate the courage in Huerta, Debra Rojas, Esmeralda Lopez in publicly sharing their experiences while emphasizing the need for a “broad public reckoning” that affirms the farm workers’ movement beyond any one person.
The proposal marks a rapid shift for the board, which earlier this month passed a resolution, also by Gonez and Rivas, recognizing Chavez’s legacy and directing schools to teach his contributions to labor and civil rights.
Mayte De La Vega, executive associate at Southern California Crossroads, prepares for a food bank as she passes a mural at Watts/Century Latino Organization on Monday, March 23, 2026 where Artist Mister Alek painted Dolores Huerta over César Chávez following sexual assault allegations against the labor leader. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Over the weekend, artist Mister Alek painted a new image of Huerta over the face of Chavez on a mural on the outside of the Watts Century Latino Organization. The center’s founder, Arturo Ibarra, who recently died, commissioned the artwork in 2021, which also features civil rights pioneer Dr. Martin Luther King.
In the city of San Fernando, public works crews last week took down a once-revered Chavez statue, moments after the City Council approved it.
“I think that while we have community discussions, there is a sense of urgency to act quickly and decisively,” said Mayor Joel Fajardo at the meeting. “This is such a heartbreaking story that Dolores Huerta shared, and I can’t imagine having 60 years of silence.”
In a matter of one day, San Fernando’s actions symbolized a swift call to action and “course-correct” happening across Southern California, where Chavez’s name is ubiquitous, from schools, street signs, parks, community centers, and parades and events from Pacoima to Riverside.
Legislative leaders announced a redesignation of the Cesar Chavez Day March 31 state holiday on Thursday, and also vowed to work with local governments and school districts to address laws and statutes related to other renaming efforts. Gov. Gavin Newsom also signaled his support for the effort.
Assemblymember Alexandra M. Macedo, R-Tulare, introduced legislation to also rename the March 31 holiday Farmworker Day.
In 2000, California became the first state to designate Chavez’s birthday as a day to honor the civil rights leader. State employees were granted a day off, and schools were required to teach students about his legacy and his involvement in the labor movement in California.
In the city of L.A., Mayor Karen Bass on Thursday also signed a proclamation renaming the city’s Cesar Chavez Day holiday as “Farm Workers Day,” in light of sex assault allegations against the late labor leader.
“Cesar Chavez, I had the honor of meeting once and I thought it was the opportunity of a lifetime. … ” Bass said. “And when I heard the painful news from the sister that I admire so much, Dolores Huerta, my heart broke for what she went through.”
The Board of Supervisors meeting begins at 9:30 a.m. at 500 W. Temple St., Room 381B, at the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration in Los Angeles.
Staff writer Teresa Liu contributed to this report