LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Thursday 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.
Bass said she has been in contact with Chavez’s family, and they are in support of the move. The city recognizes the holiday on the last Monday of March, this year falling on March 30.
“This is a difficult day,” Bass said at a morning news conference at City Hall. “The last 48 hours have been very painful, very difficult. Cesar Chavez, I had the honor of meeting once and I thought it was the opportunity of a lifetime. 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 fight of the farm workers, their struggle and their victories inspired all of us,” the mayor said.
Bass signed the proclamation after a news conference, where she was joined by L.A. City Councilmembers Eunisses Hernandez, Monica Rodriguez and Imelda Padilla.
“This fight and this moment was about more than just one man,” Rodriguez said. “It was about a community — and several communities that were equally committed and seeking the respect that they deserve.”
On Wednesday, Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis said she will introduce a motion “to explore renaming” the county’s Chavez holiday. She said the process will include labor and community organizations and will be “grounded in the same collective bargaining process that established the holiday.”
Solis did not offer a possible new name, but county Supervisor Janice Hahn suggested in a statement Wednesday morning that the county consider “Farmworker Day.”
Officials in California reacted to sexual abuse allegations against Cesar Chavez.
“For those of us who grew up admiring the farmworker movement, today’s news is heartbreaking,” Hahn said in a statement. “But as in any other civil rights movement, men were only half the story. The abuses of one man will never diminish the extraordinary sacrifices, accomplishments, and legacy of the women of the farmworker movement. It’s time we put them first.”
An activist group called California Rising held a news conference Wednesday calling for the renaming of Cesar Chavez Avenue, which runs about six miles through downtown Los Angeles, Monterey Park and East Los Angeles. The group called for the road to be named Dolores Huerta Avenue, honoring the United Farm Workers union co-founder.
Raul Claros, founder of California Rising, a nonprofit he started in 2016, said he was passionate about the issue because he has a 10-year-old daughter, and he will explain to her why he is attempting to persuade Los Angeles city officials to rename the street.
“We know in the Latino community, a lot of this abuse has been tolerated for generations,” Claros said. “In our culture, we’re told to stay quiet. That stops now.”
City News Service contributed to this report.
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