LA to cancel Cesar Chavez Day after horrific rape scandal as more landmarks set to fall

Los Angeles is planning to strike down Cesar Chavez Day after the emergence of bombshell rape and sexual abuse allegations against the iconic labor leader.

The March 31 state holiday will be renamed Farm Workers Day under a proclamation set to be signed Thursday by LA Mayor Karen Bass.

Bass said Wednesday that Chavez’s “crimes do not diminish the courage of farm workers and workers everywhere who fight for their rights, equality for Latinos, and a stronger nation for everyone.”

There are also plans to assess the renaming of city landmarks named after Chavez, as numerous schools, parks and murals stand in his honor across Los Angeles.

Three women — including Chavez’s closest ally in the labor movement, Dolores Huerta — came forward to accuse Chavez of rape and sexual assault. Two of the women, Ana Murguia and Debra Rojas, told the New York Times that Chavez raped them when they were minors.

“I 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,” Bass said in a statement.

“The 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 – it demands sustained action to dismantle social, cultural, economic, and political structures that have hurt women throughout our history,” she added.

LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis said she will also introduce a motion to rename all parks, streets, county facilities, monuments and other programs bearing Chavez’s name.

“I am deeply shaken by the abuse involving César Chávez, including the horrific account shared by my close friend, Dolores Huerta, and other survivors,” Solis said in a statement to NBC Los Angeles. “These allegations are grave and deeply painful, and they demand a thorough, transparent, and trauma-informed response.”

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the California Latino Legislative Caucus said it will pursue name changes.

“The allegations published against César Chávez are deeply disturbing and profoundly serious. We cannot celebrate a man, regardless of his accomplishments, if he harmed women and children in such vile ways,” the caucus said in a statement.

“We stand committed to work toward renaming streets, post offices, vessels, and holidays that bear Chávez’s name to instead honor our community and the farmworkers whose struggle defined the movement.”

After the horrific allegation against Chave emerged, author Matthew Garcia told The Post that he believes there was a cover-up of his deeds to avoid tarnishing his legacy.

“Chavez became too big to fail, and the consequences are that these women’s suffering and violations were covered up oftentimes at the hands of the movement, and even the families that served it,” he said.

---

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters