LA County Board of Supervisors to consider erasing name, likeness of Cesar Chavez from county streets, parks

Steve Scauzillo, Los Angeles Daily News on Mar 23, 2026

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LOS ANGELES — Shaken by allegations that the late civil rights leader Cesar Chavez had raped women and girls as young as 12 during the 1970s, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will take up a motion on Tuesday to remove his name and image from numerous places in Los Angeles County.

Supervisors Hilda Solis and Lindsey Horvath will ask the Chief Executive Office and the County Counsel to begin a process whereby parks, streets, monuments, civic art and other county programs will have Chavez’s name and likeness removed.

Places that honored Chavez bearing his name would be renamed, according to the motion by the two supervisors.

The process would be aided by community groups who are impacted by the stunning allegations, while opening the process to impacted groups to participate “without stigma or fear of reprisal.”

Many civil rights leaders have already suggested renaming the street of Cesar E. Chavez Avenue in downtown Los Angeles to Dolores Huerta Avenue, for example.

Huerta is a co-leader of the farmworkers movement, and has been honored by Solis and the Board of Supervisors in the recent past for playing a critical role in the advancement of labor rights for farmworkers.

Huerta, who will turn 96 on April 10, told the New York Times last week in an explosive report that Chavez 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 Chavez and the labor movement, and because she feared she wouldn’t be believed.

“I stand with Dolores and with every survivor who has carried these experiences in silence. Survivors must believed, supported, and treated with dignity. They must never again be made to feel that their voices are secondary to any movement or individual,” said Solis in a statement last week.

In the motion, the supervisors say they want the county to continue to honor the farmworker movement even while “confronting difficult truths,” and that the county should recognize the movement’s legacy rather than the legacy of a single person.

The motion asks the county staff to come back with a written report in 21 days on a process and for how to begin these changes.

As it is, an array of local agencies are considering similar actions. Some have already taken action.

On Tuesday, Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education will consider a resolution that would replace honoring Chavez with celebrating farmworkers. It doubles down to “ensure resources and counseling are made available to survivors of sexual violence within our school communities,” according to a draft of a proposed resolution.

The draft outlines the need to celebrate the courage in Huerta, Debra Rojas, Esmeralda Lopez in publicly sharing their experiences while emphasizing the need for a “broad public reckoning” that affirms the farm workers’ movement beyond any one person.

In the city of San Fernando, public works crews last week took down a once-revered Chavez statue, moments after the City Council approved it.

“I think that while we have community discussions, there is a sense of urgency to act quickly and decisively,” said Mayor Joel Fajardo during the meeting. “This is such a heartbreaking story that Dolores Huerta shared, and I can’t imagine having 60 years of silence.”

In a matter of one day, San Fernando’s actions symbolized a swift call to action and “course-correct” happening across Southern California, where Chavez’s name is ubiquitous, from schools, street signs, parks, community centers, and parades and events from Pacoima to Riverside.

Legislative leaders announced a redesignation of Cesar Chavez March 31 state holiday on Thursday, and also vowed to work with local governments and school districts to address laws and statutes related to other renaming efforts. Gov. Gavin Newsom also signaled his support for the effort.

Assemblymember Alexandra M. Macedo, R-Tulare, introduced legislation also to rename the March 31 holiday Farmworker Day.

In 2000, California became the first state to designate Chavez’s birthday as a day to honor the civil rights leader. State employees were granted a day off, and schools were required to teach students about his legacy and his involvement in the labor movement in California.

In the city of L.A., Mayor Karen Bass on Thursday also signed a proclamation renaming the city’s Cesar Chavez Day holiday as “Farm Workers Day,” in light of sex assault allegations against the late labor leader.

“Cesar Chavez, I had the honor of meeting once and I thought it was the opportunity of a lifetime,” Bass said. “And when I heard the painful news from the sister that I admire so much, Dolores Huerta, my heart broke for what she went through.”

The Board of Supervisors meeting begins at 9:30 a.m. and they meet at 500 West Temple Street, Room 381B, at the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration in Los Angeles.

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