{"id":226197,"date":"2026-03-19T01:23:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T01:23:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/226197\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T01:23:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T01:23:07","slug":"la-county-supervisor-janice-hahn-calls-for-cesar-chavez-day-to-be-changed-to-farmworker-day-long-beach-post-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/226197\/","title":{"rendered":"LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn calls for ‘C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez Day’ to be changed to ‘Farmworker Day’ \u2022 Long Beach Post News"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article was originally published by LAist<\/a> on March 18, 2026. It\u2019s republished here with additional reporting by Long Beach Post staff.<\/p>\n

As allegations of sexual abuse of minors by farmworker labor legend C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez\u00a0become public,<\/a>\u00a0local officials are sharing their shock at the news.<\/p>\n

L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn said in a statement she was horrified to learn of sexual abuse detailed in\u00a0a New York Times report<\/a>\u00a0published Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor those of us who grew up admiring the farmworker movement, today\u2019s news is heartbreaking. But as in any other civil rights movement, men were only half the story,\u201d she wrote. \u201cThe abuses of one man will never diminish the extraordinary sacrifices, accomplishments, and legacy of the women of the farmworker movement. It\u2019s time we put them first.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hahn is calling for L.A. County to change its March 31 public holiday named in honor of Ch\u00e1vez to \u201cFarmworker Day.\u201d<\/p>\n

The New York Times reported allegations that Ch\u00e1vez abused girls for years. In an interview included in the report, Dolores Huerta, Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s United Farm Workers co-founder, says he sexually assaulted her in 1966, and years earlier had pressured her to have sex on a work trip.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said: \u201cI am keeping Dolores Huerta, Ana Murguia, and Debra Rojas in my heart, and I honor their strength and that of every woman and girl horrifically harmed by those in power.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sickening reality is that what Dolores, Ana, and Debra endured is not isolated, nor is it of the past. Real progress requires more than moments of reckoning \u2013 it demands sustained action to dismantle social, cultural, economic, and political structures that have hurt women throughout our history.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nonprofit California Rising is also advocating for Cesar Chavez Avenue to be officially named Dolores Huerta Avenue, saying \u201cpublic spaces must reflect values that honor and protect communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Will there be renamings in Long Beach?<\/p>\n

In Long Beach, Mayor Rex Richardson said on X that the city would consider<\/a> renaming public facilities but stopped short of calling for any change to the downtown park and elementary school named after Chavez.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese reports are deeply troubling, and we take them seriously,\u201d he said. \u201cWhile the information is still emerging, we will engage our city\u2019s leadership and community in a thoughtful process to consider how we recognize the farmworker movement in our public spaces, holidays, and civic life\u2014including reviewing the naming of public facilities\u2014in a way that is responsive to this moment and grounded in our values.\u201d<\/p>\n

Councilmember Mary Zendejas, whose district includes Long Beach\u2019s Cesar Chavez park and school, said she understands \u201cthe importance of considering their renaming.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cViolence against women and girls, no matter the circumstance, is never okay.\u00a0 And I will always stand with them,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

In years past<\/a>, Long Beach residents have pushed for name changes to other Long Beach Unified schools, including Woodrow Wilson and Jordan high schools. (Advocates have cited Woodrow Wilson\u2019s racism and David Starr Jordan\u2019s acceptance of eugenics.) Yet aside from the 2016 rechristening<\/a> of Robert E. Lee Elementary to Olivia Nieto Herrera Elementary, named for an activist with ties to Chavez, little has come from the public pressure for new school names.<\/p>\n

The school district says it\u2019s considering next steps.<\/p>\n

\u201cCesar Chavez Elementary School opened in 2004 and was named in recognition of the enduring contributions to the farmworkers\u2019 labor movement and advocacy for their families,\u201d a spokesperson said in a statement. \u201cThe accusations against him do not diminish the movement\u2019s work and contributions, though we recognize his name may no longer evoke that history.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rep. Nanette Barrag\u00e1n, who represents portions of Long Beach in Congress, said she was \u201cheartbroken, outraged, and sick to my stomach\u201d that \u201csomeone could abuse their power and stature to take advantage of young girls and women.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, we are reminded of the need to continue that work and to hold people accountable, no matter their title or history. We cannot look away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Long Beach Post staff reporter Kate Raphael contributed to this report.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This article was originally published by LAist on March 18, 2026. It\u2019s republished here with additional reporting by…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":226198,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[131,133,132],"class_list":["post-226197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=226197"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226197\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/226198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=226197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=226197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=226197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}