California state lawmakers took steps on March 19 to remove Cesar Chavez’s name from a state holiday this year and replace it with “Farmworkers Day” after accusations against the civil rights icon of sexual assault involving children and women surfaced the day before.
The state became the latest to take action to change or cancel plans to celebrate Chavez as fallout over the accusations continued.
Cesar Chavez Day has been celebrated each year on March 31 in California, where Chavez first founded the National Farm Workers Association in 1962, which later became the United Farm Workers of America (UFW).
California was the first state to designate the labor leader’s birthday a legal holiday, celebrating Cesar Chavez Day as an official state-paid holiday in 2000, after former Gov. Gray Davis signed related legislation into law….
California Moves to Rename Cesar Chavez Day Before March 31 Holiday
