California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a bill that would rename Cesar Chavez Day to Farmworkers Day after the late labor leader was accused of sexual abuse. The bill was approved by California legislators earlier in the day on Thursday, March 26.
Assembly Bill 2156 officially changes the name of the state holiday held on March 31, distancing it from the formerly renowned civil rights icon and instead focusing on the accomplishments of California's farmworker labor rights movement in the 1960s.
“The farmworker movement was never about one man,” California State Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas said on March 19. “It was built by thousands — tens of thousands — of workers."
A New York Times investigation published on Wednesday, March 18, included allegations that Cesar Chavez sexually abused two girls while they were under the age of 18. The Times also reported that Chavez raped renowned civil rights activist Dolores Huerta, an allegation she also made public in an online statement.
USA TODAY generally does not name victims of sexual assault. But Huerta spoke out publicly to tell her story, in an interview with the New York Times and in a statement posted online.
