Phoenix renames Cesar Chavez Day amid sexual abuse revelation 

PHOENIX (CN) — The Phoenix City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to rename Cesar Chavez Day to Farmworkers Day in light of recent sexual abuse accusations against the civil rights leader.

The city will also begin the process of renaming the several buildings, schools, streets and parks named for Cesar Chavez, who in 1965 co-founded the United Farm Workers union alongside Dolores Huerta.

Last week, Huerta revealed that she was raped twice by Chavez and hid two children conceived with him from the public to not sully the legacy of the union she dedicated her life to. On the same day, the New York Times published an investigation documenting regular sexual abuse Chavez perpetrated against two underage girls from 1972 to 1977.

The United Farm Workers has already canceled all Cesar Chavez Day activities.

“Cesar Chavez might have been the face of the farm worker movement, but the movement made him. He didn’t make the movement,” Council Member Betty Guardado said Wednesday afternoon. “It was the workers who decided to go out on strike. It was the workers who decided to picket.”

Phoenix has celebrated Cesar Chavez Day on his birthday, March 31, since the early 2000s. In 2014, then-President Barack Obama declared the day a federal commemorative holiday. Since March 18, multiple states have canceled their annual celebrations. Arizona’s legislature is already moving forward on a bill to repeal the holiday statewide.

“As a society, we idolize individuals who are part of a collective when we really should be looking at the bigger picture,” Council Member Laura Pastor said. “Leaders like Dolores Huerta and so many others carried the flag forward."

Pastor said she worked closely alongside both Chavez and Huerta during her college days.

“Who we really need to recognize are the unsung heroes who do and did the work. Who made the movement happen,” she said.

Facilities named for Chavez in Phoenix include:

• Cesar Chavez Plaza
• Cesar Chavez Boulevard ceremonial street sign
• Cesar Chavez Community School
• Cesar Chavez Park and Community Center
• Cesar Chavez Library
• Cesar Chavez High School
• A Mural honoring Cesar Chavez at the CPLC Maryvale Community Service Center, Phoenix

Some changes will take longer than others. City staff told the council that it can have street signs and the plaque marking the Cesar Chavez Plaza removed within hours of the meeting’s end. Similarly, renaming the library could be immediate.

Anything under the purview of the city parks department would be subject to a rigorous removal process. Artworks like the Maryvale mural are under the authority of the Phoenix Arts and Culture Commission. City staff said they would have to consult with the commission and the individual artists.

“I know there’s a lot of concerns, and rightfully so, that we’re rushing through the process,” Council Member Anna Hernandez said. “We will engage in a process to get their input on how to proceed forward.”

The council voted 9-0 to support the measure. City staff will update the council every 30 days on the removal progress.

“Today is not an easy day,” Guardado said. “But this is a conversation that is necessary. We know that this is something where people have a very hard time reporting. As a city, we honor all the victims and we applaud all the victims who come forward.”

Later, the council voted to establish a community transparency initiative to prevent federal immigration officers from using Phoenix’s public spaces to stage immigration enforcement actions.

“We have to be prepared,” Mayor Kate Gallego said. “We’re next on ICE’s list.”

Ultimately, the Phoenix Police Department will decide whether to allow immigration officers to use public spaces.

Community members largely supported the measure but said they were wary of giving Phoenix police too much authority.

Two days ago, Immigration and Customs enforcement deployed to the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, as well as numerous airports around the country. Gallego said because the federal government has some jurisdiction at airports, the city cannot keep ICE out of Sky Harbor.

In addition to restricting ICE from public spaces, the initiative will establish an online portal for residents to track, document and report federal agents who violate the civil rights of citizens. Criminal referrals will be made to Phoenix police and the state attorney general.

The portal will be available in 60 days.

Because ICE has resisted cooperating with investigations elsewhere, city staff said investigations will be difficult and that the likelihood of prosecutions is low.

“I don’t expect cooperation from this rogue agency,” Hernandez said.

The city will also collect data on how federal immigration enforcement affects city services and small businesses and train city employees to identify and report immigration actions that might violate city policy or state or federal law.

The council voted 8-1 with dissent from Republican Jim Waring.

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