This article was originally published by LAist on March 18, 2026. It’s republished here with additional reporting by Long Beach Post staff.
As allegations of sexual abuse of minors by farmworker labor legend César Chávez become public, local officials are sharing their shock at the news.
L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn said in a statement she was horrified to learn of sexual abuse detailed in a New York Times report published Wednesday.
“For those of us who grew up admiring the farmworker movement, today’s news is heartbreaking. But as in any other civil rights movement, men were only half the story,” she wrote. “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.”
Hahn is calling for L.A. County to change its March 31 public holiday named in honor of Chávez to “Farmworker Day.”
The New York Times reported allegations that Chávez abused girls for years. In an interview included in the report, Dolores Huerta, Chávez’s United Farm Workers co-founder, says he sexually assaulted her in 1966, and years earlier had pressured her to have sex on a work trip.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said: “I am keeping Dolores Huerta, Ana Murguia, and Debra Rojas in my heart, and I honor their strength and that of every woman and girl horrifically harmed by those in power.
“The sickening reality is that what Dolores, Ana, and Debra endured is not isolated, nor is it of the past. Real progress requires more than moments of reckoning – it demands sustained action to dismantle social, cultural, economic, and political structures that have hurt women throughout our history.”
Nonprofit California Rising is also advocating for Cesar Chavez Avenue to be officially named Dolores Huerta Avenue, saying “public spaces must reflect values that honor and protect communities.”
Will there be renamings in Long Beach?
In Long Beach, Mayor Rex Richardson said on X that the city would consider renaming public facilities but stopped short of calling for any change to the downtown park and elementary school named after Chavez.
“These reports are deeply troubling, and we take them seriously,” he said. “While the information is still emerging, we will engage our city’s leadership and community in a thoughtful process to consider how we recognize the farmworker movement in our public spaces, holidays, and civic life—including reviewing the naming of public facilities—in a way that is responsive to this moment and grounded in our values.”
In years past, Long Beach residents have pushed for name changes to other Long Beach Unified schools, including Woodrow Wilson and Jordan high schools. (Advocates have cited Woodrow Wilson’s racism and David Starr Jordan’s acceptance of eugenics.) Yet aside from the 2016 rechristening of Robert E. Lee Elementary to Olivia Nieto Herrera Elementary, named for an activist with ties to Chavez, little has come from the public pressure for new school names.
The school district didn’t immediately respond to questions about whether any change is under discussion.
Rep. Nanette Barragán, who represents portions of Long Beach in Congress, said she was “heartbroken, outraged, and sick to my stomach” that “someone could abuse their power and stature to take advantage of young girls and women.”
“Today, we are reminded of the need to continue that work and to hold people accountable, no matter their title or history. We cannot look away.”
Long Beach Post staff reporter Kate Raphael contributed to this report.