Phoenix to rename Cesar Chavez Day and starts process to remove labor activist's name from city facilities
Cesar Chavez, in a photo taken in 1988. (Photo by Bob Riha, Jr./Getty Images)
PHOENIX - Officials with Phoenix City Councilwoman Betty Guardado's office announced on March 25 that the council has approved a motion that starts the process of renaming city holidays and facilities that bear Cesar Chavez's name, amid recent sexual misconduct allegations against the late labor activist.
What we know:
Per the statement released by Councilwoman Guardado's office, the city will "immediately begin removing ceremonial signage and initiate formal processes to rename Cesar Chavez Plaza, the Cesar Chavez Library, and other City facilities" as a result of the approved motion.
"The Phoenix Parks Board will also begin reviewing park names and facilities in accordance with its policies, and the Arts and Culture Commission will evaluate public artwork associated with Chavez."
The city will also begin the process of renaming its March 31 holiday to "Farmworkers Day." The city has already renamed Cesar Chavez Day on their website. City offices will be closed on that day.
The backstory:
Officials with Councilwoman Guardado's office said the action "comes in response to deeply troubling information that has surfaced, prompting the City to reexamine who it formally honors and whether those recognitions reflect the values of the Phoenix community."
According to the Associated Press on March 18, the New York Times found that Chavez groomed and sexually abused young girls who worked in the labor movement.
One of the alleged victims, according to the AP, is Dolores Huerta, who is a labor rights activist in her own right. Huerta, per the report, described two sexual encounters with Chavez, one where she was "manipulated and pressured" and another where she was "forced against my will."
Huerta later said both sexual encounters with Chavez led to pregnancies, which she kept secret, and that she arranged for the children to be raised by other families. "No one knew the full truth about how they were conceived until just a few weeks ago," she said in her statement.
Huerta also said in her statement that she stayed silent for 60 years out of concerns that her words would hurt the farmworker movement.
The Source: Information for this article was gathered from a statement released by Phoenix City Councilmember Betty Guardado's office, with supplemental information gathered from the Associated Press.