Since last week’s shocking investigative report by the New York Times about allegations that legendary labor leader Cesar Chavez sexually abused women, the measures taken to date have been swift and significant.
Locally, the Cesar E. Chavez memorial statue in the City of San Fernando was taken down, and the 33rd annual Cesar Chavez March for Justice was canceled, which was believed to be the first march organized to honor Chavez following his death in 1993. In addition, Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) board members voted to rename two LAUSD schools named after him, including Cesar E. Chavez Learning Academies (CCLA) on Arroyo Avenue.
On Tuesday, the LAUSD Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution introduced by board members Kelly Gonez, who represents the East San Fernando Valley, and Rocio Rivas to start the process of having the school communities – including students, families and staff – propose new names for CCLA and Cesar Chavez Elementary in El Sereno by the fall of 2026.
Gonez told the San Fernando Valley Sun/el Sol that she was “shocked, appalled and angered” when she read about the “horrific allegations about abuse of girls and women” by Chavez.
“As a mom and an educator and also as a survivor myself, it was extremely heartbreaking to read those stories of what these survivors have gone through, the silence and the pain that they’ve had to carry for so many years,” she said. “[It] reminds all of us – especially those of us, including myself, who have experienced sexual violence personally – that this is a cycle that affects far too many girls and women, where, systemically, men with power in our society commit these acts of abuse against girls and women, and far too often go without punishment or accountability.
“I honor the bravery of the survivors who spoke out,” added Gonez. “We cannot continue to let this harm go unchecked.”
As part of the resolution, Gonez said the school district will provide training, counseling and resources across LAUSD schools to help prevent child abuse and “ensure that anyone who is a survivor has the space and the support that they need to speak out and to get the help they need.”
The approved resolution also states that LAUSD will now recognize March 31 as Farm Workers Day, in line with similar proclamations made by the San Fernando City Council, LA Mayor Karen Bass, the LA County Board of Supervisors and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
“We’ll [also] be updating our lessons and guidance to our educators to ensure that we are focused on the farm workers movement as a whole, the collective movement of people to fight for human rights and dignity for farm workers in general … rather than one individual person,” said Gonez.
Aranza Guerrero, a senior and student body president at ArTES Magnet at CCLA in the City of San Fernando, said she was shocked when she heard the news about Chavez being accused of sexual abuse by Dolores Huerta, and two others – Ana Murguia and Debra Rojas, both now 66 years old – who allege the abuse took place when they were both minors.
“I was [also] sad and disappointed,” described Guerrero. “It’s just so heartbreaking to hear that something like that happened to people and that they had to conceal it for so long out of fear, because [it involved] a man who was so powerful and so idealized by so many in our society.”
While she understands the urgency many people feel, including her fellow classmates, to condemn Chavez’s actions by stripping his name from schools and other institutions, Guerrero believes the funds required to rename a high school like CCLA – which she said can cost approximately $500,000 based on her research – would be better used to serve students.
“Or they could be donating [the] money to help the victims of sexual abuse [or] … for opening up new scholarships,” added Guerrero. “We should still be, obviously … condemning what he’s done and speaking out, standing up for and standing with the woman that he abused. But I just genuinely believe that our money could go toward better things [than] changing the name.”
As class president, Guerrero said she plans to organize a town hall on campus to give CCLA students the opportunity to express their feelings and opinions about the Chavez scandal.
Olivia Robledo, a City of San Fernando resident, former principal at San Fernando Middle School and a member of the Cesar Chavez Commemorative Committee – which is being dissolved and rebranded – described her reaction to the Chavez revelations as “grief.” The local committee canceled the Cesar Chavez March; this year, volunteers had made 100 large, handheld cutouts of monarch butterflies to symbolize migration and represent migrant farm workers.
“Certainly the pain of the survivors is paramount, but I’m feeling grief because the person I thought I knew died, so I feel that profound sadness is something that we’re all going through and getting over that means processing and [that] takes time,” Robledo told the San Fernando Valley Sun/el Sol following a special meeting of the San Fernando City Council last week, when they voted to remove the memorial statue, which was placed by the commemorative committee.
The councilmembers also voted in favor of having community discussions about what may replace the statue, which was located near the intersection of Truman and Wolfskill streets. They also discussed reaching out to the artist who created the accompanying 100-foot-long mural, which also bears his likeness and is currently covered and fenced, about how it could be altered.
“When cities and the state are moving forward so quickly [with decisions about Chavez], I think it’s not giving me time to process,” she continued, acknowledging that she understands the need and urgency to act, especially among young people, like her own granddaughter.
“When she heard the news, her response was, ‘I’m going to burn my T-shirt,’ because … she doesn’t have the historical memory. From generation to generation, I hope that people are respectful of the different responses, because they are all valid,” said Robledo. “This is what we call a golpe en la vida – which is a trauma in life. It’s something that we have to get over and at the end we’re stronger. We have to understand that and we have to do it together.”