27 Mar California Renames César Chávez Day to Farmworkers Day

Workers weed a field of peppers in Idaho, on July 20, 2012. (Kirsten Strough / U.S. Department of the Interior via Bay City News)

By EdSource Staff

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation Thursday naming March 31 Farmworkers Day. The date was previously a state holiday named for César Chávez, the co-founder of the United Farm Workers.

After a New York Times investigation found extensive evidence that Chávez had sexually abused girls as young as 12 and 13 when he was in his 40s, state lawmakers acted swiftly to rename the holiday.

Dolores Huerta, who co-founded the United Farm Workers with Chávez, also said publicly that Chávez had raped her twice and that she had not made the information public because of fears that it would hurt the farm workers’ movement.

State holidays in California are not required to be observed by school districts, but many schools did recognize César Chávez Day in late March or early April.