LAUSD moves to strip César Chávez’s name from two campuses and change focus of holiday

A resolution to rename the schools will be considered on an emergency basis at an L.A. Board of Education meeting that was scheduled as a “board retreat” to discuss an update to the district’s strategic plan. The measure, added by board members Kelly Gonez and Rocio Rivas, contains other significant provisions, including renaming César Chávez Day as “Farmworkers Day” to honor the contributions of those laborers in California.

The schools in question are César Chávez Learning Academies in San Fernando and César Chávez Elementary School in El Sereno. The renaming process would be completed by this fall.

Their resolution is called “Standing with Survivors and Recognizing Farmworkers” and it is almost certain to pass in some form.

The board action would be one more step by a public agency to remove Chávez’s name and also shift from lionizing Chávez to honoring instead the farmworkers’ movement, and, in some cases, raising up the names of his alleged victims.

As recently as March 10, the L.A. school board unanimously approved a resolution — also sponsored by Gonez and Rivas — that recognized Chávez as “a true American hero.”

The revelations around Chávez surfaced in a New York Times investigative report last week and include allegations that he raped movement co-leader Dolores Huerta and sexually abused two minor girls.

The L.A. Unified resolution names four alleged victims of Chávez — Huerta, Ana Murguia, Debra Rojas, and Esmeralda Lopez — saying they “should never have been forced to endure the harm of the abhorrent and repetitive abuse and sexual violence committed against them, or carry the burden of society’s expectations in silence for decades.”

The resolution would move the district from honoring Chávez to celebrating farmworkers.

The Board of Education “continues to celebrate the achievements of the Farmworkers’ Movement that are the result of collective labor action and remain a testament to the power of the people to demand dignity, respect and progress for workers’ rights and human rights,” the resolution states.

The cause remains “relevant and urgent to this day, including workers’ rights, immigrants’ rights, and respect and dignity for all people,” according to the resolution.

The resolution also considers the possibility that allegations against Chávez could trigger mental health issues for survivors of sexual assault.

Under the resolution, the district would “ensure resources and counseling are made available to survivors of sexual violence within our school communities, for whom these revelations may be triggering and traumatic, including ensuring school sites have clear, confidential reporting pathways, trained staff and trauma-informed supports for students impacted by sexual violence.”

The allegations surfaced during Women’s History Month, which, like the Chávez holiday, is a focus of school instruction at this time of year.

There is a linkage that can be made in the classroom, said Alison Yoshimoto-Towery, executive director for the California Institute on Law, Neuroscience and Education at UCLA.

The allegations are “an important reminder that for generations, women have made critical contributions, often with personal sacrifice and little recognition,” said Yoshimoto-Towery, who formerly headed instructional efforts at L.A. Unified.

Unfortunately, she said, “young people sometimes learn that being compliant is valued more than speaking up. Schools are important places to learn to replace invisibility and self-sacrifice with personal and collective pride, agency and voice.”

The resolution also talks of strengthening “age-appropriate, culturally responsive instruction on consent, healthy relationships and recognizing abuse.”

In addition, the resolution speaks of continuing “efforts already in progress to align instructional resources to the collective Farmworkers movement, rather than the history of one individual.”

The study of Chávez has been deeply embedded in California curriculum and teacher lesson plans.