BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — Cesar Chavez left an impact on Kern County through national parks, landmarks, and more.
Political Recognitions
In 1994, President Clinton awarded Chavez a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom.
In 2012, President Obama signed a presidential proclamation creating Cesar E. Chávez National Monument in Keene. The full proclamation can be found here. In 2014, President Obama proclaimed Cesar Chavez Day on March 31.
In 2021, First Lady Jill Biden visited The Forty Acres site in Delano. She returned to Kern County the following year to the Villa La Paz for a citizenship event in remembrance of Cesar Chavez.
First Lady Jill Biden visits Kern County on César Chávez Day (KBAK/KBFX)
National Park and Landmarks
In Delano, “The Forty Acres” became the headquarters for the United Farm Workers of America (UFW) in 1966. At The Forty Acres the UFW first successfully bargained for and signed contracts protecting the rights of farm workers in California and across the U.S. The Forty Acres, a National Historic Landmark, is located at 30168 Garces Highway in Delano.
In Keene sits the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument. The Memorial Garden is where Cesar and Helen Chavez’s gravesite is. The monument also includes a visitor center where documentaries are shown, Chavez’s preserved office, exhibits and artwork.
President Barack Obama and Helen Chavez place a rose at the gravesite of Cesar Chavez before the dedication ceremony for the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument in Keene, Calif., Oct. 8, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Impact on Education
There are two schools named after him, Cesar Chavez Elementary School in Bakersfield within the Bakersfield City School District and Cesar E. Chavez High School in Delano within the Delano Joint Union High School District.
California State University, Bakersfield, and the Board of Trustees of California State University gave César E. Chávez the posthumous honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, according to the CSU website.
Streets
A proposal to rename H Street to Cesar Chavez in Bakersfield was advanced in a Bakersfield City Council vote in August 2025. However, on March 18, 2026, the City announced they were terminating the plan amid allegations.
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A mural of Cesar Chavez is displayed in downtown Bakersfield on Wall and 18th Streets. It was displayed in 2019.
