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Lawmakers move to rename Cesar Chavez Day

David Sanabria
/
Flickr / Creative Commons

Today, the Speaker of the California State Assembly Robert Rivas introduced legislation to rename Cesar Chavez Day to Farmworkers Day. BODY: The move comes after The New York Times reported allegations that Chavez had groomed and sexually abused minors, and fellow Civil Rights icon Dolores Huerta.

Rivas spoke before the general assembly in Sacramento earlier today.

“Because this moment calls for honesty. It calls for reflection, and it calls for a renewed commitment to the values that the farmworker movement was built on.”

Cesar Chavez Day celebrations across the country have been cancelled. The California Museum said it will remove Chavez from the state’s hall of fame. And some people are calling for Huerta’s name to replace Chavez’s in places that bear his name.