Chicago and others cities examine César Chávez's legacy
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Cesar Chavez speaks to demonstrators in New York in 1971. Photo: Frank Hurley/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images
Chicago is among the cities grappling with labor leader César Chávez's legacy following new allegations of sexual abuse.
The latest: A New York Times investigation this week reported allegations that the United Farm Workers co-founder groomed girls and sexually abused young women while leading the farmworker movement.
- Chávez died in 1993. Chávez's family released a statement saying they were "devastated" by the report, expressed support for survivors and asked for privacy while they process the allegations.
The big picture: Chávez's face and name are all over Chicago, a city with deep labor roots and a large Latino population.
- A Back of the Yards elementary school, a Pilsen post office and a West Loop plaque all bear his name, alongside public art across the city.
- "We are not aware of any requests to change the name of that facility," USPS spokesperson Tim Norman tells Axios about the César E. Chávez Pilsen Post Office.
State of play: "Leadership at Cesar E. Chavez Multicultural Academic Center has begun the process of soliciting feedback from its school community on the decision to consider a school name change," Chicago Public Schools spokesperson Mary Fergus said in statement Thursday.
- If the school does initiate a name change, it will be presented to the its local school council and begin an "open and public process to ensure that a new school name represents the values of its school community." Any decision must ultimately be approved by the Chicago Board of Education.
- A recent example was Ukrainian Village's Christopher Columbus Elementary changing to Ruth Bader Ginsburg Elementary in 2024.
Flashback: Chávez visited Chicago in 1985 to organize boycotts against Jewel stores, which were selling lettuce from growers hostile to farmworker unions, according to the Chicago History Museum.
Zoom out: Govs. Greg Abbott of Texas and Katie Hobbs of Arizona said their states would not observe César Chávez Day, and some San Antonians want city leaders to change the name of a downtown thoroughfare named after Chávez.
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday the state is changing March 31 from César Chávez Day to Farmworkers Day.
Reality check: Illinois does not officially honor Chávez on March 31, as many states do, but has in past years declared the day Farmworkers Awareness Day.
What they're saying: "To the survivors who are now coming forward, especially those who were children and teenagers at the time of their abuse: We hear you. We believe you. You are not alone," Angela Anderson Guerrero of Mujeres Latinas en Acción said in a statement.
- She said the courage of Dolores Huerta, Chavez's longtime UFW partner who said she was abused by the leader, "serves as a powerful reminder that it's never too late to speak one's truth. Her disclosure highlights a painful reality that many Latinas face — the intersection of cultural loyalty, the pressure to protect our institutions, and the trauma of sexual violence."
Editor's note: This story has been updated to say that leadership at Cesar E. Chavez Multicultural Academic Center is soliciting feedback about the school's name.