State lawmakers are fast-tracking bills to remove the late Latino labor leader Cesar Chavez from state holiday celebrations after bombshell allegations that he sexually assaulted at least two minors and one of his fellow organizers.
Lawmakers in California, Colorado, Minnesota and New Jersey have all introduced bills in recent days to strip Chavez’s name from state holidays, which are set for his birthday, March 31.
In California and Colorado, the day would be renamed Farm Workers Day, after the labor cause Chavez advanced during his lifetime. In New Jersey, legislation would scrap the March 31 holiday and replace it with an April 10 holiday honoring Dolores Huerta, who co-founded the United Farm Workers with Chavez. Minnesota’s legislation would repeal the holiday altogether without setting a replacement.
The swift legislative action is coming less than a week after the New York Times detailed horrific allegations against Chavez, who died in 1993. The paper reported two women’s allegations of sexual assault against Chavez, both occurring when the women were minors.
In the course of the investigation, Huerta, who remains a labor icon beloved in Democratic politics at age 95, said Chavez had pressured her into sex and raped her.
The United Farm Workers canceled annual celebrations honoring Chavez. Marches were called off in several cities. Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, said she would not recognize the holiday through a proclamation this year. So did Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican.
The bills were almost all introduced by Democratic lawmakers. The Colorado legislation was sponsored by 63 of the House’s 65 members, including both Democrats and Republicans.
Introducing quickly drafted bills, lawmakers said they were meant to honor the women who had come forward with their allegations.
“They are stories that are painful, stories that are deserving, and long overdue to be heard,” California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, a Democrat who is the son and grandson of farm workers, said this week. “I’m shocked, I am angry, and I am deeply, deeply disappointed. You know, the fact that many of these women were children when they were abused makes this even more heartbreaking.”
“When serious allegations of sexual assault and abuse are raised, especially by those who have carried the pain and silence, we have a responsibility to respond with integrity,” Colorado House Majority Leader Monica Duran, a Democrat, said in a committee hearing. “This bill is not meant to erase history, not to dismiss the labor movement, but because when we choose who we honor in law, we must be willing to reevaluate that honor when harm is brought to light.”
Utah also celebrates Cesar Chavez Day, but lawmakers there adjourned two weeks ago, before the New York Times report came out.
City and county governments across the country have already started removing references to Chavez. Officials in San Fernando, Calif., Denver, Dallas and Milwaukee removed statues. Other cities have begun longer-term processes to rename local schools or streets.