Along Los Angeles’ sun-baked César E. Chávez Avenue on Wednesday, Raul Claros was envisioning a street sign without the name of the late farmworker rights leader, demanding that elected leaders rename the street after Dolores Huerta.
Claros, founder and director of the nonprofit advocacy group California Rising, said the name must be changed, part of a re-set — a “course correction” — since stunning accusations arose that the late civil rights leader raped longtime ally Huerta and sexually assaulted female followers as young as 12 during the 1970s.
“César Chávez Avenue needs to be replaced,” he told a group of reporters, as the bustle and din of traffic echoed among the multi-family, multi-story apartments all around, near the Figueroa Street intersection. “There are conversations within the community, one that we are spearheading,” he added, that would change it to “Dolores Huerta Avenue.”
In an explosive New York Times report out Wednesday, Huerta, who will turn 96 on April 10, told the newspaper that Chávez drove her to a secluded grape field in Delano, California, in 1966 and raped her in the vehicle. She said she never reported the attack out of concerns for police hostility toward Chávez and the labor movement, and because she feared she wouldn’t be believed.
Backers of Claros’ demand said there was enough evidence laid out in the report to justify taking down the name. They called on local and statewide elected leaders to make the change as soon as possible.
“I have a 10-year-old little girl, who today, after school, I’m going to have sit down around the dinner table and explain to her why we’re out here doing this, what the rumors, allegations and the facts are — how this country and the city’s going to celebrate César Chávez Day in Women’s History Month — a course correction has to happen in my living room today and in so many others,” Claros said.
More broadly, it was a movement that in some cities counties gained steam as the fast-moving story spread through the region on Wednesday, while local leaders and grass-roots groups reckoned with the stunning allegations. In others, leaders held off on changes, for the moment.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis said she will be introducing a motion on the board to explore renaming the county holiday that now recognizes César Chávez.
“As we reckon with these revelations, Los Angeles County must take thoughtful and deliberate action,” she said in a statement Wednesday. “This process will be guided by community and labor partners and grounded in the same collective bargaining process that established the holiday.”
She said the motion will also direct county staffers to explore the renaming of parks, streets, county facilities, property, monuments and other county programs that bear the name of César Chávez. That could include the removal of related imagery in civic art, with decisions guided by community engagement, she noted.
Solis did not offer a possible new name, but county Supervisor Janice Hahn suggested “Farmworker Day.”
“For those of us who grew up admiring the farmworker movement, today’s news is heartbreaking,” Hahn said in a statement. “But as in any other civil rights movement, men were only half the story. The abuses of one man will never diminish the extraordinary sacrifices, accomplishments, and legacy of the women of the farmworker movement. It’s time we put them first.”
In the Inland Empire, there are many events and tributes to the late labor leader — from schools and centers to community gatherings.
Riverside has both a community center named for Chávez and a bronze statue — often the target of vandalization — on the Main Street pedestrian mall in the city’s downtown.
“Riverside is aware of the reports involving the alleged conduct of the late César Chávez,” spokesperson Phil Pitchford said in a statement. “Like a lot of Californians, we are shocked by the reports and processing potential next steps,” he added.
Already canceled: This month’s César Chávez Memorial Breakfast hosted at Cal State San Bernardino, an event that typically honors local entrepreneurs, leaders and Latinx community members in the labor movement.
Professor Enrique Murillo Jr., one of the memorial breakfast organizers from Latino Education and Advocacy Days at Cal State San Bernardino, said that the event had originally been postponed for March, and was going to be rescheduled for later in April, after Easter. But now, Murillo said, having “recently become aware of the allegations… for sure the breakfast is cancelled for 2026.”
He expressed dismay in a joint statement with event co-organizers from the Hispanic Coalition of Small Businesses and the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice.
“Our work and theme for 2026 for upcoming programming and events will continue to focus on the youth,” Murillo said. “We stand in solidarity with the survivors. We join with others in calling for accountability, justice, and a path forward rooted in healing, truth, and dignity. Only through this process can we remain aligned with the values that the movement itself was meant to uphold.”
Meanwhile, the city of Duarte posted: “In light of recent news, the City of Duarte has cancelled its César Chávez Day of Service event on Saturday, March 21. Join us for our Donald and Bernice Watson Recreation Trail Community Clean-Up on Saturday, April 18 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.”
Santa Ana Councilmember Jessie Lopez said Wednesday in a social media post that she will introduce an agenda item to “begin the community proces” to rename the city’s Cesar Chavez Campesino Park on West 5th Street, adding, “This process will be transparent and community-led.””As a city rooted in justice, dignity and community, we must not look away from difficult truths. Honoring our history also means confronting it honestly,” she said, adding also, “No title, legacy or position should shield anyone from accountability or allow a culture of harm and silence to continue.”
Carson, however, said it will push on with its annual Chavez-themed event on March 27, Mayor Lula Davis-Holmes said.
“We will continue to observe the holiday in solemn remembrance of the labor movement’s historical impact and the progress made for farmworkers across our nation,” Davis-Holmes said. “Regarding the deeply troubling allegations that have recently surfaced, the City of Carson maintains a steadfast position aligned with our judicial system: everyone is innocent until proven guilty.”
On Wednesday, Santa Ana Unified School District officials were reviewing allegations, spokesperson Fermin Leal said, adding that the district so far had not received any concerned messages from families. The campus of Santa Ana Unified’s César Chávez Continuation High School opened in 1994.
The late labor leader has been honored in Orange County with a park in Santa Ana and inclusion in multiple murals of the Chicano movement and community achievements.
The city of Duarte posted: “In light of recent news, the City of Duarte has cancelled its César Chávez Day of Service event on Saturday, March 21. Join us for our Donald and Bernice Watson Recreation Trail Community Clean-Up on Saturday, April 18 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.”
Organizers of a Pomona breakfast have removed Chavez’s name from the event.
The Friday, March 27, event will now be called the Latino and Latina Roundtable Legacy Breakfast, Jose Zapata Calderon, a professor at Pitzer College in Claremont, wrote in an email. It’s set for 8 a.m. at the Sheraton Fairplex Suites & Conference Center in Pomona.
The Los Angeles Unified School District is home to César Chávez Elementary School near El Sereno, and the César Chávez Learning Academies, a San Fernando campus of four independent high schools.
It was unclear if the LAUSD will consider pulling Chávez’s name from the campuses.
“Los Angeles Unified is aware of the recent, troubling allegations related to César Chávez,” an LAUSD representative said in a statement Wednesday. “We take matters of this nature very seriously. Los Angeles Unified respects the voices and courage of survivors of all forms of violence.
“The district is reviewing curriculum and resources to ensure the emphasis remains on the important work of the farmworker movement, not on any one individual. It is important to recognize the collective work of thousands who have advanced social justice, labor rights, and community empowerment.”
Schools are also named after Chávez in Compton, Lynwood and Montebello. Santa Ana in Orange County is home to César Chávez High School.
At Los Angeles City College, construction is continuing on the César Chávez Administration and Workforce Building, scheduled for completion next year.
Los Angeles Union Station, meanwhile, houses the César Chávez Transit Plaza.
Several states recognize a day on or near Chavez’s March 31 birthday as an annual holiday, including California, Colorado, Minnesota, Texas, Utah and Washington.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday said he was still “processing” the news and wouldn’t commit to making any changes to the state holiday.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Wednesday that his state would not observe the holiday this year, and that he was directing all state agency heads to comply with the change.Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has declined to recognize March 31 as César Chavez Day as she has in the two prior years, said Liliana Soto, a spokesperson for Hobbs.
Among the U.S. cities that have canceled events named for Chavez include San Jose, Denver, Milwaukee, and Lansing, Michigan.
The César E. Chávez National Monument in Keene, California, however, won’t be changing its name right away. Dennis Arguelles, the director of the National Parks Conservation Association in Southern California, said renaming the national monument would require an act of Congress.
Many agreed on one point Wednesday — the movement can be separated from the man. In fact, as Claros suggested, it is a woman — Huerta — who should represent a non-violent movement that sought dignity and fairness for farmworkers through boycotts and pickets.
“We know in the Latino community, a lot of this abuse has been tolerated for generations,” Claros said. “In our culture, we’re told to stay quiet. That stops now.”
Claros urged people to call their elected officials from school board members up to Congress to change the names of public spaces and sites that were dedicated to Chávez.
“This is the moment that creates a new movement,” he said, “and that movement means we have to get César Chávez’s name out of this street and get Dolores Huerta’s name up there.”
Staff writers Tyler Evains, Anissa Rivera, Allyson Vergara and Claire Wang contributed to this report.